Grand Harbour of Malta tornado

1551 CE.

Shown on the map at 35.895°, 14.520°.

The Grand Harbour of Malta tornado was an tornado in Malta, killing at least 600 people. It supposedly began as a waterspout, hitting the Grand Harbour of Malta where it killed hundreds of people who drowned when their ships capsized. At least four of the Order's galleys, named Santa Fè, San Michele, San Filippo and San Claudio, capsized in the tornado. The date of the tornado is unknown, as sources vary between 23 September 1551 or 23 September 1556. TORRO indicates a rating of T7 on the TORRO scale, equivalent to F3 on the Fujita scale. Maltese naval commander Mathurin Romegas was present and got trapped for hours under one of the capsized galleys, but survived with only neurological damage.

Text from the Wikipedia article Grand Harbour of Malta tornado, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Everything else in 1551 CE

HistoryLayer draws the world as it was in any year from 123,000 BCE to 2026. Move the slider and the borders redraw for that year; the map carries 23,890 events, 12,790 people, 837 wars and 13,183 cities, each one readable in place. Signing in is optional and lets you keep what you find.

HistoryLayer
1914CE
World Wars
123,000 BCE2026 CE
54 stops — one per surviving map on file, evenly spaced drag the pin · ←→ steps one stop the same 54 stops by true elapsed time ↑
Map & filters
Show on the map
Filter
Colour by
Polity Empire