Tyre experienced significant damage during the 1837 CE earthquake that devastated much of the Galilee and the southern Levant. Contemporary reports indicate that numerous houses collapsed, others were cracked or badly damaged, and the streets of the city were filled with debris from fallen masonry. A brief notice in The Times (London) described Tyre as having been “slightly injured,” but other observers present in the region gave a much more vivid account of the destruction. According to William McClure Thomson, the destruction in Tyre was severe. He reported riding into the town over fallen sections of the city wall, while the streets were so obstructed with ruins that travel through the city was difficult. Thomson wrote that many buildings were damaged beyond repair and would require extensive demolition and rebuilding. Twelve people were killed in the earthquake and about thirty were wounded. Additional testimony from Edward Robinson confirms that numerous houses in Tyre and nearby Sidon collapsed while others were cracked and structurally weakened. Thomson also describes the aftermath in dramatic terms. On entering the ruined city at night he found the streets choked with fallen houses, while wind howled through broken windows and shattered walls. Many inhabitants were afraid to remain inside damaged buildings and spent the night outdoors, sleeping in boats pulled up onto the shore or in tents erected along the coast. Together these accounts depict a city heavily damaged by the earthquake, with collapsed structures, blocked streets, casualties, and large portions of the population temporarily displaced from their homes.