557 Tsunami: Marmara Sea, Turkey
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7 earthquake began at Marmara Sea, Turkey in 557.
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
- 557
- Source
- Marmara Sea, Turkey
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 7
- Runups recorded
- 0
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- 3
- Tsunami magnitude (Iida)
- 1
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Probable tsunami
- Source location
- 40.900° N, 27.600° 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.
557. Seismic period in Costantinople. 40o54'N, 27o36'E. Sea advanced as far as 3 miles affecting some parts of the Thrace coasts (Glyka, ref#10487; Guidoboni, r3ef #10479). Validity 3. (reference #4139)
557, October 14. Marmara Sea, 40o54'N, 27o36'E. intensity IX, magnitude 7.0. Validity 1. Extensive inundation. (reference #2427)
557. Thrace. A seismic sea wave in Thrace is listed by Guidoboni (1989) in AD 557 on the authority of Glycas. I can find no evidence that this phenomenon had a seismic origin. Glycas does not mention an earthquake and, moreover, the flooding he speaks about occurred in AD 544. (reference #9116)
More
Every tsunami in 557The 500sTsunamis of TurkeyThe 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 2026-09-24. NCEI tsunami event 2286.