August 14, 1846 Tsunami: Livorno, Italy
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 6.1 earthquake began at Livorno, Italy on August 14, 1846 at 12:35 UTC. Its effects were recorded at 1 place. It killed 56 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
Travel times
How long the first wave took to reach each part of the ocean, one line for each hour up to 24, estimated from the source and the depth of the sea.
The travel times are computed in your browser, which needs JavaScript.
- 1 to 4 hours
- 5 to 6 hours
- 7 to 14 hours
- 15 hours and more
Computed in your browser the way NOAA’s own travel time maps are: the wave travels at the square root of gravity times the depth, over NOAA’s ETOPO1 depths averaged to a 10 arc-minute grid. Checked against NOAA NCEI’s maps for 21 tsunamis over the first 24 hours, these lines fall within 10 minutes of NCEI’s at half the points compared and within 52 minutes at 9 in 10. They give when the first wave could arrive, not how high it is; bays, harbors and island chains finer than the grid can see it later. Not for use in a warning: see tsunami.gov.
The tsunami
- Date
- August 14, 1846, 12:35 UTC
- Source
- Livorno, Italy
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 6.1, 5 km deep
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- 3
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Probable tsunami
- Source location
- 43.400° N, 10.600° E
The toll
- Deaths
- 56 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million) 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.
Ligurian Sea, Italy, France. "A hollow underground rumble started to be heard from the sea near a light-house in Livorno since July 25, and it grew lounder on August 12 and 13. The rumble was accompanied by an unusual choppiness of the sea water which could not be explained by the character and the force of the winds that blew at the time. A very strong earthquake in the district of Tuscany, Italy occurred at 12h35m on August 14. The villages on hills suffered more than the ones in depressions. Orciano was destroyed completely, Lorenzana, S.Regolo, Casciana, Crespina, Lari, Pieve di Sta Luce, Montescudaio, Guardistallo, Volterra were partially destroyed. 56 were killed" (reference #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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Livorno | Italy | 29 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1846The 1800sTsunamis of ItalyThe earthquakeThis day in weather historyAlerts 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 3313.