October 30, 1759 Tsunami: Akko, Israel

Name: October 30, 1759 Tsunami: Akko, Israel
Start: 1759-10-30
Location: Akko, Israel

October 30, 1759 · 8 m · 2,000 deaths · Definite tsunami

A tsunami caused by a magnitude 6.6 earthquake began at Akko, Israel on October 30, 1759. The water rose as high as 8 meters. Its effects were recorded at 2 places in at least 2 countries. It killed 2,000 people, counting the earthquake or eruption that caused it.

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: October 30, 1759
Source: Akko, Israel
Cause: Earthquake
Earthquake: Magnitude 6.6
Maximum water height: 8 m (26.2 ft)
Runups recorded: 2
Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura): 4
Tsunami magnitude (Iida): 1.3
Waters: Ocean
How certain: Definite tsunami
Source location: 33.000° N, 35.500° E

The toll

Deaths: 2,000 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
Damage: Severe (about $5 to $25 million) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
Houses destroyed: Very many (over 1,000) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
Houses damaged: Very many (over 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.

Levantian Sea, Near East, Palestine and Lebanon. Tsunami took place in Akko. The water rose by 2.5 m (from other data--by 8 m). (reference #2130). Listed as likely/possible tsunami.

References #20 and #27 list 2.4 m runup.

A seismic seawave flooded Acre and the docks at Tripoli, but there was no apparent damage. (reference #13870)

This was a strong earthquake in Palestine and Syria with a tsunami at Acre and Tripoli, flooding the streets to a height of 2–2.5 m and throwing ships onto the shore. According to Ambraseys and Barazangi (1989) ‘‘... there was no apparent damage’’. (see also Antonopoulos (1973, 1980); Amiran et al. 1994). Listed as definite tsunami. (reference #2815)

Reference #10416, #11164 (v.2) lists as definite tsunami.

A seismic sea wave flooded Acre to a height of about 2.5 m above normal sea level, as well as the docks of Tripoli, without causing any damage. (reference #9116)

Tsunami at Akka and Tripoli (reference #9275)

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
Akko (Acre)	Israel	41	8		Eyewitness observation of water height
Tripoli	Lebanon	162			Eyewitness observation of water height

Every tsunami in 1759 The 1700s Tsunamis of Israel 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 466.