With a magnitude approaching 9.0, it had profound and long-lasting consequences, not only for Portugal but also for all of Europe. The quake was felt all over Europe and there was heavy loss of life in the Moroccan cities of Fez and Meknes. The worst damage occurred in Lisbon with its numerous magnificent buildings, some of them dating back to the Moorish occupation. Lisbon, with a population of 275,000, was in 1755 one of the largest and most beautiful cities in Europe.

A devastating fire followed the earthquake, reducing a large part of the town to nothing, the narrow streets full of fallen rubble preventing access to the fire sites. Soon the fire reached cataclysmic proportions. The flames raged for five days, destroying a number of buildings, which had suffered little damage until then. All of the downtown area burned completely or partially.

About 30 minutes after the quake, 6 meters high waves struck the shore, each dragging people and debris out to sea. Boats overloaded with refugees turned over and sank.

A very strong tsunami caused heavy damage along the coasts of Portugal, Spain, and Morocco. In Spain, waves penetrated the Guadalquivir River, reaching Seville. Crossing the Atlantic, it reached the Caribbean in the afternoon, where the sea rose more than a meter, followed by large waves

The destruction in the Algarve was greatest; the tsunami took apart some fortresses on the coast and razed houses, waves reached a height of more than 30 m. In Lagos, the waves topped the city walls. All coastal towns and villages of the Algarve were seriously damaged, except Faro, which was protected by sand banks. For the coastal regions, the destructive effects of the tsunami were more disastrous than those of the earthquake.

The Lisbon earthquake of 1755 is still mentioned a lot and its effects still visible. A big part of Portugal’s cultural heritage was destroyed and gone forever.