In 1759 the Levant was struck by two major earthquakes — the 30 October 1759 Safed earthquake and the 25 November 1759 Baalbek earthquake — both of which were widely felt along the Syrian and Palestinian coast. Contemporary reports from the period indicate that Akko (Acre) suffered damage during this earthquake sequence, although the surviving accounts rarely distinguish clearly between the effects of the two shocks. The earlier Safed earthquake, however, was probably responsible for most of the destruction described in Akko.

A letter from the French Consulate in Saida [Sidon] written in December 1759 notes that the coastal cities were affected but that the damage varied from place to place. The report states that “Acre [Akko] was damaged a bit less than Seyde [Sidon].” Letters written shortly afterward from Aleppo by Patrick Russell on 2 and 7 December 1759 describe the continuing flow of information about the earthquakes from across Syria and the Levantine coast. Russell remarks that “from this time, we had daily accounts of earthquakes from Damascus, Tripoly, Seidon, Acri [Akko], and all along the coast of Syria; but so exaggerated in some circumstances, and so inaccurate in all, that we only knew in general, that Damascus, Acri [Akko], and Seidon, have suffered injury from the earthquake, though less than was at first given out.” He further reports that “Acri [Akko] and Latakea have suffered little, besides rents [fractures] in some of the walls.”

A report circulating in Europe soon afterward presented a more dramatic description. An article published in March 1760 in La Gazette de France states that the earthquake not only destroyed Safed but also damaged several coastal cities, noting that “Tripoli in Syria, Seyde [Sidon], and Saint-Jean d'Acre [Akko] were badly damaged. Several houses were knocked down there, and others have sunk several feet.” Because this account was derived from second-hand reports transmitted through Constantinople, it may reflect some exaggeration. Later travelers also observed traces of the destruction caused by the earthquake sequence. Writing after his voyage to the Levant, John Bramsen noted that the fortifications of Acre had suffered heavily in the earthquake and that evidence of the damage was still visible decades later. He wrote that “in 1759, this place suffered greatly due to an earthquake, and you can still see remarkable remains of the destruction.”

Taken together, these accounts indicate that Akko sustained moderate earthquake damage during the 1759 earthquake sequence. Contemporary observers emphasize cracked walls, localized building collapse, and possible structural settlement rather than wholesale destruction. Because most reports were written in the weeks following the first shock and refer to the earthquakes collectively, it remains difficult to separate the effects of the Safed earthquake of 30 October 1759 from those of the Baalbek earthquake of 25 November 1759. Nevertheless, the earlier Safed event was likely responsible for most of the damage observed in Akko.