February 9, 1948 Tsunami: Dodecanese, Karpathos Is., Greece
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7.3 earthquake began at Dodecanese, Karpathos Is., Greece on February 9, 1948 at 12:58:18 UTC. The water rose as high as 7.3 meters. Its effects were recorded at 12 places.
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
The tsunami
- Date
- February 9, 1948, 12:58:18 UTC
- Source
- Dodecanese, Karpathos Is., Greece
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 7.3, 40 km deep
- Maximum water height
- 7.3 m (24.0 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 12
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- 4
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 35.640° N, 27.158° E
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 573 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Houses damaged
- Few (about 1 to 50); 1,539 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.
1948, February 9. Aegean Sea, islands of the region of Dodecanese. A strong earthquake took place. A destructive tsunami originated and rolled along the eastern shore of the Island of Karpathos. After rolling back, the water gushed onto the coast and advanced deep onto dry land for 1 km near Pigadia. The topsoil was washed off within a considerable area. The height of the wave was estimated at 2.5 m. (reference #2130)
February 9, 1948, 12:58:13 UTC, Dodecanese, Carpathos, 35.5 N, 27.2 E, magnitude 7.1. (reference #330)
February 9, 1948, 12:58:13 UTC, 35.5 N, 27 E, magnitude 7.1, tsunami intensity IV. (reference #2427)
February 9, 1948, 12:58:13 UTC, Dodecanese, Island of Karpathos, 35.5 N, 27 E, magnitude 7.1, tsunami intensity IV. (reference #15)
February 9, 1948, Dodecanese, Island of Karpathos, 35.5 N, 27 E, magnitude 7.1, tsunami intensity IV. (reference #29)
February 9, 1948, Dodecanese, Island of Karpathos, 35.5 N, 27 E, magnitude 7.1, tsunami intensity IV. (reference #20)
Sea inundation at Karpathos island. (reference #4139)
The tsunami associated with the Karpathos earthquake of 9 February 1948 inundated 900 m at an unnamed location (Papadopoulos and Chalkis, 1984). Papadopoulos et al. (2007) report eyewitness accounts of an initial sea withdrawal at Pigadia Bay 5 to 10 min after the earthquake; a subsequent 250-m inundation there, which resulted in extensive damage to vessels and homes; and inundation at the town of Finiki, on the southwest coast of Karpathos. However, we note that Ambraseys and Synolakis (2010) have critically re-examined the catalog entries of Papadopoulos et al. (2007) and concluded that some may be spurious, but have nonetheless been uncritically copied in subsequent derivative works. (reference #12496)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agia Kara, Karpathos Island | Greece | 13 | 7.3 | 200 | Runup height, post-tsunami survey | ||
| NW of Pigadia, Karpathos Island | Greece | 13 | 250 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Diafani (6), Karpathos Island | Greece | 14 | 3.1 | Runup height, post-tsunami survey | |||
| Diafani (7), Karpathos Island | Greece | 14 | 3.6 | 200 | Runup height, post-tsunami survey | ||
| Pigadia (4), Karpathos Island | Greece | 15 | 4 | Runup height, post-tsunami survey | |||
| Eastern Karpathos Island | Greece | 16 | 2.5 | 1,000 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||
| Pigadia (1), Karpathos Island | Greece | 16 | 2.9 | Flow depth, post-tsunami survey | |||
| Pigadia (2), Karpathos Island | Greece | 16 | 7 | 200 | Runup height, post-tsunami survey | ||
| Pigadia (3), Karpathos Island | Greece | 16 | 5.7 | Splash mark, post-tsunami survey | |||
| Finiki, Karpathos Island | Greece | 17 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Makris Gialos, Karpathos Island | Greece | 24 | 2.5 | 150 | Runup height, post-tsunami survey | ||
| SW Island of Rhodes | Greece | 63 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1948The 1900sTsunamis of GreeceThe 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 1779.