August 15, 555 Tsunami: Thrace, Turkey
A tsunami caused by an earthquake began at Thrace, Turkey on August 15, 555.
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
- August 15, 555
- Source
- Thrace, Turkey
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- The earthquake
- Runups recorded
- 0
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Questionable tsunami
- Source location
- 41.000° N, 29.500° 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.
555, August 15. Thrace, 41 N 29.5 E, earthquake intensity 10.5. Sea recession and return to its level. Many boats went under water (Staikoff, ref #10541). Source region listed as Black Sea. (reference #4139)
555, August 15 (16). 41 N, 29.5 E, earthquake intensity 10-11, tsunami. (reference #1149)
555, July 11 Constantinople. At the same time as a storm, an earthquake was strongly felt in Constantinople, but caused no damage. Theophanes gives the date of this earthquake as a.M. 6047, indiction 3, 11 July (AD 555). He adds that it took place during the Liturgy of St Euphemia of the Mountain. He does not give a location for this earthquake, but in the next sentence refers to a storm at the same time, which blew off the cross fixed to the Gate of Rhegium. Since this gate is in Constantinople, it may safely be concluded that the earthquake must also have occurred in there. Cedrenus has a storm that blew down the cross over the Gate of Rhegium during the 28th year of Justinian (1 August 554 to 30 July 555), but he does not mention an earthquake. Note: this reference [#9116] lists a destructive earthquake in the eastern part of the Sea of Marmara on 554 Aug 16.(reference #9116)
More
Every tsunami in 555The 500sTsunamis of TurkeyThe 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 3785.