On 30 October 1759, a violent earthquake affected the coastal cities of Syria. According to an Anonymous letter from the French Consulate in Saida, a shock at about 3:45 in the morning caused widespread fear and damage in Sidon, and continuous tremors were felt day and night. Residents abandoned the town and took refuge in the countryside under tents as aftershocks continued. Other contemporary accounts confirm the regional impact of the event. Boutros Jalfaq noted fatalities in several villages around Sidon and 5 in Sidon itself. The regional scope of the damage was also recognized by La Gazette de France, which stated that Tripoli, Sidon, and Acre were badly damaged by the shock.

A second, stronger earthquake struck on 25 November 1759. The French consular letter reports that this later shock was "stronger and longer than the first" and that the two earthquakes together ruined the city of Sidon, leaving no house undamaged and rendering the khan and many residences uninhabitable. According to Boutros Jalfaq, the second shock aggravated the earlier destruction and caused additional casualties in villages around the region.

Reports from farther north also confirm damage from both events. Patrick Russell noted that Damascus, Acre, and Sidon suffered injury from the earthquakes, and that during the November shock a large part of the Frankish khan (aka Khan al-Franj) in Sidon collapsed, with Europeans narrowly escaping with their lives. Administrative records reflect the severity of the disaster. A Petition from Sada (Sidon) dated 5 December 1759 requested tax reductions for that year and the next, demonstrating the economic impact of the earthquakes on the city and its surroundings.