John of Ephesus provided lots of details and an inaccurate date for the event (558–559 CE). He reported that a severe earthquake struck and Beirut collapsed, together with many coastal cities and villages in Galilee, Arabia, Palestine, and Samaria. He added that along the entire Phoenician coast the sea withdrew and retreated nearly two miles. When the earthquake came, the sea pulled back from Beirut and other coastal cities of Phoenicia for a distance of almost two miles. Then a tremendous surge rushed back to its original level, and as the sea rose behind the people of Beirut, "the earthquake brought down the city before them".