Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The Messina earthquake and tsunami took some 100,000 200,000 lives on December 28, 1908 in Sicily and Calabria, southern Italy.On December 28, 1908 at 5:21 am an earthquake of Richter magnitude 7.5 occurred centered on Messina, a city in Sicily. Reggio Calabria on the Italian mainland also suffered heavy damage. The ground shook for some 30 to 40 seconds, and the destruction was felt within a 300 km radius. Moments after the earthquake, a 40 feet (12 m) tsunami struck nearby coasts causing even more devastation. 91% of structures in Messina were destroyed and some 70,000 residents were killed.