In The Life of Symeon of the Wondrous Mountain we find an ex eventu prophecy that provides many valuable details about the 551 CE Beirut Quake, including the reported time of the event – approximately 4:00 PM at the "tenth hour". The text states that “the whole land was shaken by a terrible earthquake, of a kind unknown to past generations, and the towns and villages of the coast collapsed in ruins,” and that “the mountains were uprooted and violently split open, and chasms opened up in the earth in various places.” It further records that “the sea receded for many hours, and ships broke up as they violently struck the land.” Finally, it adds that “the region to the north, from Laodicea to Antioch, remained standing, and only a few towers and church walls were damaged, but as St. Symeon had said, no buildings collapsed, and the area to the south from Tyre to Jerusalem was also preserved, just as Symeon had seen in his vision.”