January 31, 1756 Tsunami: Baleares, Spain

Flooded coast. Very improbable tsunami. Unknown cause/source. (reference #4139)

According to Rodriguez (1932) on 31 January 1756 a tidal wave flooded the coast and left some fish on the sand. However, this catalog is the only reference to such event: a contemporary source (Mendonca, 1758) reports: “[. . . ] On January 1756 there were many earthquakes, that I cannot find any memories, and that I cannot remember, because I just noticed the greater ones on April the 25th (this year) and later on [. . . ]”. Perrey (1847) does not include any information on this event. In the absence of conclusive information from the earthquake itself, not included in the catalogs of LNEC (1986), Martins and Victor (2001) or Sousa et al. (1992), we conclude that Rodriguez (1932) description must not be taken into consideration. (reference #4649)

1756 Jan 31. Event reliability 0 (very improbable). (reference #12955)

1756 Jan 31. A chronicle by Nicolas Ferrer reproduced by Campaner says: “It was reported that in the town of St. Anni the sea had entered the land for more than half a league, and left so many fish that the garrigues were full: a wave that entered said water: the tower's keeper could escape, and the water filled the tower and carried away a pen that weighed more than a hundred thousand quintals.”

It is very probable, although it must be said with all kinds of reservations, that it was a seismic wave. Even allowing for numerical exaggerations on the part of the chronicler, it is inconceivable that a wave of meteorological origin could present characteristics such as those described. This wave, in this case, could have come from the east; but the catalogues that we have been able to consult do not mention any significant earthquake on land on that day, which, continuing in the order of the hypotheses, would indicate a nearby and submarine epicenter. (unofficial translation) (reference #13905)