Episode 2 of 3
Main Shock and Immediate Impact
- When
- 1837-01-01
- Where
- Galilee
The main shock occurred on January 1, 1837, causing severe damage in Safed and Tiberias, with heavy local casualties.
The earthquake struck on Sunday, January 1, 1837, around four in the afternoon, followed by a second strong shock five minutes later. It was felt as far as 500 kilometers (310 mi) away. In Safed, about half of the 4,000-strong Jewish community perished, and all fourteen synagogues were destroyed. In Tiberias, 600 people were killed, and many homes and the walls of the city were destroyed.
Sources
- 1837 Galilee earthquake Wikipedia, revision of 2026-07-27
- Safed Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-30
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.