Date in year · 1956 · The 1950s

July 9, 1956

On July 9, 1956, the 7.7 Mw  Amorgos earthquake shakes the Cyclades island group in the Aegean Sea with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). The shaking and the destructive tsunami that followed left fifty-three people dead. A damaging M7.2 aftershock occurred minutes after the mainshock. César, Anne Glover, Beatrice Ask would arrive in the same year.

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1956

1950s

Featured · July 9, 1956

The 7.7 Mw  Amorgos earthquake shakes the Cyclades island group in the Aegean Sea with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). The shaking and the destructive tsunami that followed left fifty-three people dead. A damaging M7.2 aftershock occurred minutes after the mainshock.

The 1956 Amorgos earthquake occurred at 03:11 UTC on July 9. 7 on the moment magnitude scale and a maximum perceived intensity of IX on the Mercalli intensity scale. The epicentre was to the south of the island of Amorgos, the easternmost island of the Cyclades in the Aegean Sea.

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Around 1956

The year in brief

1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1956th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 956th year of the 2nd millennium, the 56th year of the 20th century, and the 7th year of the 1950s decade.

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What happened

On July 9, 1956

  1. 1956 The 7.7 Mw  Amorgos earthquake shakes the Cyclades island group in the Aegean Sea with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). The shaking and the destructive tsunami that followed left fifty-three people dead. A damaging M7.2 aftershock occurred minutes after the mainshock.

    Earthquake and tsunami centered near the Greek island of Amorgos

    The 1956 Amorgos earthquake occurred at 03:11 UTC on July 9. 7 on the moment magnitude scale and a maximum perceived intensity of IX on the Mercalli intensity scale. The epicentre was to the south of the island of Amorgos, the easternmost island of the Cyclades in the Aegean Sea.

Elsewhere that year

Other moments from 1956

The class of 1956

Others born in 1956

César 1956– Brazilian footballer (died 2024)
Anne Glover 1956– Scottish biologist and academic
Beatrice Ask 1956– Swedish politician, Swedish Minister for Justice
Peter Chelsom 1956– English film director, writer, and actor
Kakha Bendukidze 1956– Georgian economist and politician (died 2014)
Peter Kosminsky 1956– English director, producer, and screenwriter

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