November 13, 1856 Tsunami: Chios Island, Aegean Islands, Greece

Name: November 13, 1856 Tsunami: Chios Island, Aegean Islands, Greece
Start: 1856-11-13
Location: Chios Island, Aegean Islands, Greece

November 13, 1856 · Deaths: some · Probable tsunami

A tsunami caused by a magnitude 6.6 earthquake began at Chios Island, Aegean Islands, Greece on November 13, 1856. Its effects were recorded at 1 place.

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: November 13, 1856
Source: Chios Island, Aegean Islands, Greece
Cause: Earthquake
Earthquake: Magnitude 6.6
Runups recorded: 1
Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura): 3
Waters: Ocean
How certain: Probable tsunami
Source location: 38.500° N, 26.250° E

The toll

Deaths: Some (about 51 to 100)
Damage: Moderate (about $1 to $5 million) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
Houses destroyed: 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.

November 13, 1856, 38.25 N, 26.25 E, intensity IX, Chios (Eastern Sporades), tsunami, casualties. (reference #1198)

November 13, 1856, 38.25 N, 26.25 E, tsunami intensity 3. Aegean Sea, Island of Chios. Many houses collapsed as a result of earthquake in the town of Chios, and all the other buildings cracked or were damaged. Several people were killed. A large tidal wave was observed. (reference #2130)

November 13, 1856, 38.4 N, 26.1 E, magnitude 6.3. The sea rushed on the land and some people were lost (Zolotas, 1921). (reference #4408)

November (December?) 13, 1856, 38.25 N, 26.25 E, A large tsunami wave was observed ; the sea rushed on the land and some people were lost in Chios. (reference #9275)

November 13, 1856, 38.25 N, 26.12 E (reference #11164)

Reference #9116 lists a damaging earthquake in Chios on 25 November 1856, where the sea flooded the coast with violence in Chios drowning a few people.

Reference #1099 suggest a possible error in date, might correspond to 1865, Nov. 11-14 date.

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
Chios	Greece	18			Eyewitness observation of water height

Every tsunami in 1856 The 1800s Tsunamis of Greece 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 867.