September 14, 1843 Tsunami: Dubrovnik, Croatia

1843, September 14 (October 11). Fishermen in thee open sea, 6 miles off the shore, did not feel anything, as the sea was very heavy in the harbour of Gravosa (Gravesa - ref.) and in the Bay of Dubrovnik. From other data, the sea level in Dubrovnik became extraordinary high. (reference #2130)

1843 Sept 14-15. A series of earthquakes aroused Dubrovnik on 14 and 15 September 1843. The morning of 14 September was bright and calm with a fresh ‘bora’ wind blowing. In the afternoon, two strong vertical shocks (VII) occurred, followed by several weaker ones. Two more violent shocks followed the next day; the second one, which occurred at 1 h 34 min pm, was preceded by a strong detonation and an abrupt fall in air pressure [...] An interesting report was sent from Dubrovnik: ‘At sea six miles away from the coast the fishermen did not feel any shaking, whereas the sea was extremely agitated in the port of Gruz and Dubrovnik (Gazzetta di Zara 1843; Eco del Litorale Ungarico 1843; Perrey 1850; Kispatic 1891–1895) (Fig. 17). In Gazzetta di Zara of 29/09 (and Eco Litorale Ungarico of 07/10), we also find the following note: ‘Master Babarovich of Austrian navy from Milna, returning from Malta and approaching Mljet, felt a push so strong that they thought the boat had hit an underwater cliff’. This note explicitly refers to 14 September. However, the note on the agitated sea at Gruz and Dubrovnik is related in most catalogues (Ambraseys 1962; Karnik 1971; Soloviev et al. 2000) to the same date, whereas from the original reports, it is not clear whether it refers to 14 or 15 September. In any case, the two cited reports describe the effects of a seaquake, giving no evidence of a tsunami. (reference #9531)