March 14, 1743 Tsunami: Antalya, Turkey

Name: March 14, 1743 Tsunami: Antalya, Turkey
Start: 1743-03-14
Location: Antalya, Turkey

March 14, 1743 · Questionable tsunami

A tsunami caused by an earthquake and a landslide began at Antalya, Turkey on March 14, 1743. 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: March 14, 1743
Source: Antalya, Turkey
Cause: Earthquake and landslide
Earthquake: The earthquake
Runups recorded: 1
Waters: Ocean
How certain: Questionable tsunami
Source location: 36.890° N, 30.700° E

The toll

Damage: Moderate (about $1 to $5 million) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
Houses destroyed: Many (101 to 1,000) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it

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.

14 March 1743, reliability 2-3 (reference #9275)

A report from Cyprus, dated 4 April 1743 and reviewed by Ambraseys and Finkel (1995), says that “. . . I have been informed from Satalia (Antalya) that from the 8th to 20th of the month there were terrible earthquakes as a result of which the port dried up for some time, many houses collapsed as well as part of the walls at different places which fell on the consul’s house, destroying it. Many villages were lost in this earthquake and a mountain opposite that, which lies west of the islet of Rachat (Re at), sunk completely”. This report is rather convincing as for the strong destructive earthquakes that shook the area of Antalya to the east of Rhodes. However, the piece of information that “the port dried up for some time” does not imply beyond doubt that there was a tsunami. (reference #2840)

lists as improbable tsunami. (reference #11164, v.2)

1743 Mar 08, Antalya. According to a report from Cyprus dated 4 April 1743 an earthquake off the coast of Antalya caused extensive damage. The shock triggered landslides and rock falls from the mountain which is located opposite the islet of Resat, 15 km southwest of Antalya (Beaufort 1818, map), which fell into the sea; see Figure 3.32. As a result of the earthquake the port of Antalya dried up for some time. This was probably due to the sea wave created by the collapse of the face of the mountain into the sea or the result of a submarine slide (PDGA 1756, Beilage 2). (reference #9116)

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
Antalya	Turkey	3			Eyewitness observation of water height

Every tsunami in 1743 The 1700s Tsunamis of Turkey The earthquake This day in weather history 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 5943.