February 20, 1818 Tsunami: Eastern Sicily, Italy

Name: February 20, 1818 Tsunami: Eastern Sicily, Italy
Start: 1818-02-20
Location: Eastern Sicily, Italy

February 20, 1818 · 72 deaths · Definite tsunami

A tsunami caused by a magnitude 6 earthquake began at Eastern Sicily, Italy on February 20, 1818 at 18:15 UTC. Its effects were recorded at 1 place. It killed 72 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: February 20, 1818, 18:15 UTC
Source: Eastern Sicily, Italy
Cause: Earthquake
Earthquake: Magnitude 6
Runups recorded: 1
Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura): 3
Waters: Ocean
How certain: Definite tsunami
Source location: 37.600° N, 15.133° E

The toll

Deaths: 72 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.

"Two extremely strong earthquakes occurred. ; the second was more powerful and prolonged. A great number of fissures were opened in the earthwithin the pleistoseismic area; 72 inhabitants were killed" (reference #2130).

Withdrawal/inundation at Catania (reference #139)

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
Paraspolo	Italy				Eyewitness observation of water height

Every tsunami in 1818 The 1800s Tsunamis of Italy 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 3223.