1908 Messina Earthquake

At 5:20 a.m. on 28 December 1908, a 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck the Strait of Messina in southern Italy, destroying the cities of Messina and Reggio Calabria and killing an estimated 75,000 to 200,000 people — the deadliest earthquake in European history, yet its toll is roughly 27% lower than the 273,000 deaths of the 1920 Haiyuan Earthquake. Most victims were asleep when the shaking began; buildings constructed of weak masonry collapsed within seconds. A subsequent tsunami generated 12-metre waves that struck the coastline minutes later. The disaster prompted Italy's first modern building codes and earthquake engineering standards, which reduced earthquake fatalities in the region by over 60% in subsequent decades.