This is alist of earthquakes in the Levant, includingearthquakes that either had theirepicenter in theLevant or caused significant damage in the region. As it is now, the list is focused on events which affected the territories of modern-dayIsrael,Jordan,Lebanon,Palestine andSyria and to some degree the adjacent areas of southAnatolia, Cyprus island and theSinai Peninsula (modernTurkey,Cyprus andEgypt).
The region has experienced many earthquakes, the most destructive ones being those of 31 BCE, 363 CE, 749 CE, and 1033 CE.[citation needed] The1759 events, along with the earlier1202 Syria earthquake, are likely the strongest historical earthquakes in the region.[1]: 529 Some of the earthquakes were also followed by a tsunami – notably in92 BCE,115, 306, 502,551,881,1202.
c.1500/1400 BCE – the city ofJericho destroyed and abandoned upon a major seismic event[3]
c.1365 BCE – A supposed violent earthquake that is claimed to have hitUgarit in the Bronze Era is based on misinterpreting the evidence, especially Amarna letter 151 which actually only says that half of the royal palace was destroyed by fire. The layer of destruction of Ugarit supposed to represent archaeological evidence for the catastrophe[4] is now redated to ca. 1250 BCE.[5]
c. 760 BCE – a major earthquake described in thebook of Amos, affecting ancientKingdom of Israel andKingdom of Judah[6][7] Suggested epicenter location is north of Israel. Estimation of the local magnitude range from 7.8 to 8.2, making it possibly the largest earthquake along the Dead Sea Transform.[8]
26–36 CE (all following dates in this list are CE) – An earthquake, identified in the geological strata of theDead Sea and by Roman sources, which could be the same one reported by theGospels to have taken place during thecrucifixion of Jesus[13]
746–749 – a series of earthquakes, often confused into one749 Galilee earthquake. Tiberias, Baysan (Beit She'an) andHippos were largely destroyed. A large event was centered in the Jordan Valley and had a magnitude of 7.6.[9][10]
1063 – a large earthquake hits the Levantine littoral. Acre is badly damaged[11]
1068 – ground-rupturingevent in WadiArabah. Ramla was totally destroyed and lay abandoned for four years after losing some 15,000–25,000 inhabitants in the earthquake.[25]
1070 – a large earthquake centered in theBeqaa Valley affects Palestine[9][10]
1091 – coastal towns affected,[where?] city towers collapse[11]
1202 –1202 Syria earthquake,[17] one of the largest seismic events in written history in the region. Often falsely quoted as having caused a million fatalities in the region, including fires and tsunamis, its true death toll was likely around 30,000
1261 – between Akko and Tripoli islands disappear under the sea[11]
1344 – A Ms6.6 earthquake struck northwestern Syria.Manbij was almost destroyed and 5,700 people died.[26]
1856 –1856 Heraklion earthquake: although the earthquake had an epicenter off the Greek island of Crete, shaking was severe in Cairo, Palestine and in North Africa. Some people were killed in the Nile delta and Cairo due to collapsing buildings.
1872 –1872 Amik earthquake: At least 1,800 people were killed during an Ms 7.2 (MSK 64 = XI) quake in theAmik Valley. This earthquake is believed to have generated 50 km of surface rupture on the Amanos Fault.
1927 –1927 Jericho earthquake. The epicenter was in the northern area of the Dead Sea. Jerusalem, Jericho, Ramle, Tiberias and Nablus were heavily damaged and at least 500 were estimated to have been killed.[29] The death toll in Jerusalem included more than 130 people and around 450 were injured. About 300 houses collapsed or were severely damaged to the point of not being usable. The earthquake caused heavy damage to the domes of theChurch of the Holy Sepulchre and theal-Aqsa Mosque,[30] the Dome of the Rock being badly damaged.[31] The earthquake was especially severe in Nablus where it destroyed around 300 buildings, including theMosque of Victory and the historic parts of theGreat Mosque of Nablus.[30] The death toll in Nablus included more than 150 people and around 250 were injured. In Jericho, a number of houses collapsed, including several relatively new hotels in one of which three female tourists fromIndia were killed.[32]Ramla and Tiberias were also heavily damaged.
1995 –1995 Gulf of Aqaba earthquake (also known asNuweiba earthquake) occurred on November 22 at 06:15 local time (04:15UTC) and registered 7.3 on theMw scale.
2023 –2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes hit southern Turkey near the border with Syria, killing more than 50,000 people as of February 26, and is said to double, in Turkey and Syria. TheEuropean-Mediterranean Seismological Centre said tremors were felt in Greece, Lebanon, Cyprus, Jordan, Palestine, Israel, Iraq, Romania, Georgia, and Egypt.[a][33]
1956 –Chim earthquake: In the south of Lebanon in the Chouf District; 6,000 homes destroyed, and another 17,000 damaged; 136 persons killed. Magnitude – 5.3–5.5 Mw .
2008 – A 5.1 Mw earthquake shook South Lebanon, causing ten injuries, power outages and some building damage on February 15. Of several hundred responses to the USGS' "Did you feel it?" system, three reports from northern coastal Israel indicated that a maximum Mercalli intensity of VI (Strong) was observed there. The oblique-slip shock was also felt lightly in Jerusalem, Nicosia, and Amman.[34]
2020 – A series of 4.7 Mw earthquakes occurred at a depth of 20 kilometers in the eastern Mediterranean nearBurj Islam, Syria.[35][36]
2022 – An earthquake registering slightly more than 4.1 Mw just over a mile below the surface, centered northeast ofBeit She'an, south of theSea of Galilee, is felt throughout Israel; no injuries or damage are reported.[37]
^Limited to western Jordan, northeastern Iraq, Lebanon only with a brief earthquake warning issued by their respective governments but lifted later after tremors no longer felt in these countries.
^. Wyatt, National Memory, Seismic Activity at Ras Shamra and the Composition of the Ugaritic Baal Cycle, Ugarit-Forschungen 48 (2017), p. 551-591, there p. 555-557.
^Austin, Steven A.; Franz, Gordon W.; Frost, Eric G. (2000). "Amos's earthquake: An extraordinary Middle East seismic event of 750 BC".International Geology Review.42 (7):657–671.Bibcode:2000IGRv...42..657A.doi:10.1080/00206810009465104.
^Negev, Avraham; Gibson, Shimon, eds. (2001)."Abila".Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land. New York and London: Continuum. pp. 11–12.ISBN0-8264-1316-1.
^abAmiran, D.H.K.; Arieh, E.; Turcotte, T. (1994). "Earthquakes in Israel and adjacent areas: macroseismic observations since 100 B.C.E.".Israel Exploration Journal.44 (3/4): 260–305 [267].JSTOR27926357.
^National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (1972)."Significant Earthquake Information". NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K. Retrieved22 June 2022.
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