World Map › Major Earthquakes Since 1900 › 1908
Historic Earthquake
1908 Messina Earthquake
28 December 1908 · Messina, Sicily · Italy
On 28 December 1908 at 04:20 UTC, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Italy (Messina, Sicily), at a depth of 40 km. It occurred on the Eurasian Plate, 7 km from its boundary with the African Plate (continental rift). It killed at least 80,000 people (including tsunami victims). It is the 8th deadliest of the earthquakes recorded since 1900.
- Date
- 28 December 1908
- Time
- 04:20 UTC
- Magnitude
- 7.0
- Depth
- 40 km
- Maximum Intensity
- XI (Mercalli)
- Deaths
- 80,000
- Estimated Damage
- 116 million US dollars
- Tsunami
- See the tsunami (13.0 m wave)
- Plate
- Eurasian Plate
- Country
- Italy
- Nearest Volcano
- Vulcano (60 km)
Nearby Major Earthquakes
Other major earthquakes recorded within 300 km.
- 19901990 Carlentini Earthquake · M 5.319 deaths
- 1968Sicily · M 6.0216 deaths
- 1961Sicily15 deaths
- 1914Catania, Etna · M 4.9120 deaths
- 19071907 Calabria Earthquake · M 5.9158 deaths
- 19051905 Calabria Earthquake · M 7.1557 deaths
Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Significant Earthquake Database (doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K) · Wikidata · Bird (2003), PB2002 · Natural Earth