November 16, 1894 Tsunami: Calabrian Arc, Italy
A tsunami caused by an earthquake began at Calabrian Arc, Italy on November 16, 1894 at 18:52 UTC. It killed 101 people, counting the earthquake or eruption that caused it.
Where the waves reached
The source of the tsunami. No runup with a place is recorded for it.
- Under 1 m
- 1 to 3 m
- 3 to 10 m
- 10 to 30 m
- 30 m and more
- Height not recorded
The tsunami
- Date
- November 16, 1894, 18:52 UTC
- Source
- Calabrian Arc, Italy
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- The earthquake
- Runups recorded
- 0
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Questionable tsunami
- Source location
- 38.300° N, 15.900° E
The toll
- Deaths
- 101 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.
The earthquake was accompanied by tsunami on the shore from Tropea to Cannitello. One fisherman of Scilla said he was sitting in its boat and felt as if he was being pulled up. The sea was absolutely calm; then the water started to bubble violently, and right away it became calm again. Others recalled that their boat had sunk into the water. The sea at Pizzo near Villa S. Giovanni was calm during the earthquake; a boat seemed to sink, but and then it came up again. (reference #2130)
More
Every tsunami in 1894The 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 3406.