October 9, 1828 Tsunami: Liguria-Cote D'Azur, Italy

Name: October 9, 1828 Tsunami: Liguria-Cote D'Azur, Italy
Start: 1828-10-09
Location: Liguria-Cote D'Azur, Italy

October 9, 1828 · 15 deaths · 184 houses destroyed · Probable tsunami

A tsunami caused by a magnitude 5.7 earthquake began at Liguria-Cote D'Azur, Italy on October 9, 1828 at 02:20 UTC. Its effects were recorded at 1 place. It killed 15 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 9, 1828, 02:20 UTC
Source: Liguria-Cote D'Azur, Italy
Cause: Earthquake
Earthquake: Magnitude 5.7
Runups recorded: 1
Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura): 3
Waters: Ocean
How certain: Probable tsunami
Source location: 44.821° N, 9.047° E

The toll

Deaths: 15 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
Damage: Moderate (about $1 to $5 million) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
Houses destroyed: 184 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
Houses damaged: 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.

1828, October 09, 13h 11m (possibly July 20). A considerable heavy sea was observed in the harbour of Genoa, vessels collided with each other, the sea-bottom dried up for several minutes; and this repeated in the same manner several times during the morning. Listed as possible tsunami. (reference #2130).

Shipwreck in Genoa harbour. Listed as definite tsunami (reference #4139)

In the Gulf of Genoa, a tidal wave was observed following the quake. Landslides and ground fissures occurred in the area of greatest impact. (reference #10509)

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

Some vessels damaged at Genoa, where the shock induced a strong sea movement, causing some boats to be reversed. Assigns a reliability 4 for the tsunami. (reference #2067)

Reference #1392 lists as definite tsunami

Reference #14343 suggests an underwater landslide as possible cause

Reference #2426 lists two events on 20 July and October 09 in 1828 in Genoa; however, ref #1392 says the July event is false.

Note: most references list time as 02:20, exceptions include ref #2130

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
Genoa	Italy	48			Eyewitness observation of water height

Every tsunami in 1828 The 1800s Tsunamis of Italy 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 3290.