In fact, the scenes in Turkey are tragically similar to those reported on Nov. 1, 1755, when a massive earthquake hit Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, at approximately 9:45 a.m.

His best guess is that 40,000 people died in Lisbon, with roughly 53,000 fatalities world-wide. (The city's population at the time was 200,000, making it the fifth most populous in Europe.) ...

The magnitude of the Great Lisbon Earthquake event, a historic and devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Portugal on All Saints' Day in 1755, may not be as high as previously estimated.

Earthquake felt in Lisbon, throughout Portugal's coast. No injuries were reported, but light to moderate shaking was felt up and down Portugal’s coast, including in the capital city of Lisbon.

The great earthquake that suddenly destroyed Lisbon in November 1755 was perhaps the most disastrous natural phenomenon to strike Europe since the Mt. Vesuvius explosion of the first century ...

On November 1, 1755, an earthquake released the energy equivalent of 32,000 Hiroshima atomic bombs, with Lisbon suffering the worst of it. Then the tsunami hit ...

NPR's Robert Siegel talks to Mark Molesky, associate professor at Seton Hall University, about his book, This Gulf of Fire: The Destruction of Lisbon, or Apocalypse in the Age of Science and Reason.

“This Gulf of Fire: The Destruction of Lisbon, or Apocalypse in the Age of Science and Reason” by Mark Molesky Knopf, 496 pp., $35. First came the earthquake.

Earthquake felt in Lisbon, throughout Portugal's coast. No injuries were reported, but light to moderate shaking was felt up and down Portugal’s coast, including in the capital city of Lisbon.

The Lisbon earthquake, then, not only toppled churches, shops, and homes; it also symbolized the toppling of an old world and the way that world grasped faith and held on to hope.

Following the great Lisbon earthquake of 1755, Portugal's biggest catastrophe may have been the loss of ill-gotten wealth from its African colonies. Mozamb. Skip to content. Monday, June 16, 2025.