January 1649 Tsunami: Messina Straits, Italy

Name: January 1649 Tsunami: Messina Straits, Italy
Location: Messina Straits, Italy

January 1649 · Very doubtful tsunami

A tsunami caused by a magnitude 5 earthquake began at Messina Straits, Italy in January 1649. Its effects were recorded at 1 place.

Where the waves reached

The source (white) and every runup with a place, colored by the water height recorded there. A ring is a runup NCEI marks doubtful.

Under 1 m
1 to 3 m
3 to 10 m
10 to 30 m
30 m and more
Height not recorded

Tsunami warnings in force

The tsunami

Date: January 1649
Source: Messina Straits, Italy
Cause: Earthquake
Earthquake: Magnitude 5
Runups recorded: 1
Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura): 5
Waters: Ocean
How certain: Very doubtful tsunami
Source location: 38.183° N, 15.550° E

The toll

Damage: Limited (under about $1 million)

Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.

What the record says

NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.

1649, January [?]. Calabrian Arc, Strait of Messina. 38o15'N, 15o40'E, earthquake intensity VIII, tsunami intensity 5. The strong earthquke took place in Messina, and was felt in Reggio Di Calabria. Almost all ships in the Harbour of Messina were beaten against each other and sunk. (reference #2130).

1649, January. Messina Straits, 38o11'N, 15o33'E, earthquake magnitude 5.0, intensity 6.5, tsunami intensity 3, reliability 1. Strong earthquake in Messina. Felt in Reggio Calabria. In the harbour of Messina many ships wrecked (Bonito, ref #10514). Further references: Roscitano (ref #10515), Arcovito (ref #10516), Corrao (ref #10517), Mongitore (ref #10518), Capocci (ref #10481). (reference #4139)

1649, January. 38.15 N, 15.40 E, earthquake intensity VIII. From:

1649, beginning of the year. The earthquake in Messina which is also affected by in Reggio (Capocci). The Mongitore writes that in this year a great earthquake attacked the port of Messina, so many ships remained

absorbed by the sea. (Mercalli, 1906, ref #4134)

1649, January [?]. In the beginning of the year very serious earthquake in Messina; many ships gushed

to bottom: it was also heard in Reggio Calabria. (Baratta, 1901, ref #4123)

1649. Worthy of special mention are the tsunamis occurred in Calabria and in Messina on the occasion of the violent earthquakes that have often troubled the region. We know that at the beginning of the year 1649 a very serious

extortion soil afflicted Messina and in is made at

many ships gushed to bottom. (Baratta, 1936, ref #10512)

1649, January. Reported earthquake. (Carozzo, 1973, ref #10513)

(above from reference #3470)

Every runup

Nearest the source first. Heights are above sea level at the time; a tide gauge reads half the wave’s full height.

Where	Country	Km from source	Water height, m	Inland, m	Measured by	First wave, UTC	Deaths
Messina, Sicily	Italy	1			Eyewitness observation of water height

Every tsunami in 1649 The 1600s Tsunamis of Italy The earthquake Alerts in force

Sources

Tsunami events and runups from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI tsunami event 3134.