330 BC Tsunami: E. Sporades Islands, Aegean Islands, Greece
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7 earthquake began at E. Sporades Islands, Aegean Islands, Greece in 330 BC.
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
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
- 330 BC
- Source
- E. Sporades Islands, Aegean Islands, Greece
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 7
- Runups recorded
- 0
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Very doubtful tsunami
- Source location
- 40.000° N, 25.000° E
The toll
The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this tsunami.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
330 B.C. Aegean Sea, Sporades Islands, 40 N 25 E, earthquake intensity XI, magnitude 7.0. It is said that the Chrysi Island together with the volcano of Moschylos disappeared as a result of an underground shock near the western shore of Limnos Island. Such a shock must have generated a strong tsunami. (reference 2130).
About 330, B.C. Eastern Sporades (Lemnos), 40 N, 25 E.
It is rumoured, that Chryse Island and the volcano Moschylos near the island of Lemnos were sunk by a shock. If it is true, a huge tsunami should have been generated. (reference #109)
330 B.C. Eastern Sporades Islands. Island of Chryse. Sieberg (1932a) p. 221 alludes to a seismic sea-wave to have accompanied the sinking of Chryse c. 330. No such event is mentioned by chroniclers of the time. Moreover, Chryse was afloat in 72 B.C. (reference #15)
330 B.C. Eastern Sporades Islands, 40 N 25 E. Island
of Chryse. Earthquake intensity XI. (reference #20)
330 B.C. North Aegean Sea, 40 deg 06 min N 25 deg 12 min E, earthquake intensity XI. Sea disturbance in Chrysi Islet. (reference #2427)
330 B.C. Eastern Sporades, 40.0 N, 25.0 E, earthquake magnitude 7.0. (reference #330)
More
Every tsunami in 330 BCThe 300s BCTsunamis of GreeceThe earthquakeAlerts 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 2026-10-01. NCEI tsunami event 12.