Several earthquake and tsunami catalogs — including Ambraseys (1962), Antonopoulos (1979), Antonopoulos (1980a), and Sbeinati et al. (2005) — consider the possibility that a tsunami accompanied the Beirut Conversion Quake of 347/348/349 CE. Although such a scenario is conceivable, none of the historical sources describing the earthquake mention a tsunami. The entry appears to derive from Sieberg (1932b), who noted damage on Arwad Island in connection with the event.

348 Earthquake on the Syrian Coast where Beirut and Arwad Island suffered.

348. Zers Arendes Beben an der syrischen kaste, wobei vor allein Berytus und Aradus (Ruad) litten

Arwad lies approximately 100 km from Beirut. In his discussion of the much larger 551 CE Beirut Quake, Sieberg (1932b) reported widespread destruction in Beirut but stated that the earthquake was only felt on Arwad, without indicating any damage there. If Sieberg’s remark about suffering on Arwad during the Beirut Conversion Quake refers to a real effect, the damage would more plausibly have been caused by a tsunami rather than by seismic shaking, given the island’s distance from Beirut and the smaller size of the Beirut Conversion Quake relative to the 551 CE Beirut Quake. Unfortunately, Sieberg did not provide the sources for this statement. Since the historical accounts used for this earthquake — those of Theophanes and Cedrenus — do not mention damage on Arwad, the tsunami report is regarded as uncertain and probably erroneous. Salamon et al. (2011) likewise concluded that the reported tsunami associated with this earthquake was probably false.