One of the greatest natural disasters occurred on July 21, 365. It is known as the 365 Crete Earthquake because it was near the island of Crete destroyed almost all the towns on the island and created a tsunami that devastated Alexandria, Egypt. It is estimated that the earthquake would have registered as an 8.5 in magnitude. Egyptians living in Alexandria were not alerted by the sea receding. In fact, many of them took advantage of ships being grounded to try looting them and picking up fish flopping in the temporarily dry harbor. Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus wrote:

Slightly after daybreak, and heralded by a thick succession of fiercely shaken thunderbolts, the solidity of the whole earth was made to shake and shudder, and the sea was driven away, its waves were rolled back, and it disappeared, so that the abyss of the depths was uncovered and many-shaped varieties of sea-creatures were seen stuck in the slime… then the roaring sea as if insulted by its repulse rises back in turn, and through the teeming shoals dashed itself violently on islands and extensive tracts of the mainland, and flattened innumerable buildings in towns or wherever they were found.

When the tsunami arrived, they were all drowned. The wave placed some ships on top of buildings. In other Egyptian harbors, ships were hurled up to two miles inland. In Alexandria, 5,000 were killed and 50,000 houses were destroyed. Many towns and villages were wiped out. It is estimated that 45,000 were killed in Egypt. The saltwater ruined farmland for years.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/365_Crete_earthquake

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/july-21/tsunami-hits-alexandria-egypt


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