It triggered a devastating tsunami which affected the coastal towns of Byzantine Phoenicia, causing great destruction and sinking many ships.

Overall large numbers of people were reported killed, with one estimate of 30,000 by the anonymous pilgrim of Piacenza for Berytus (modern Beirut) alone.

[3] The earliest[4] account of the earthquake comes from John Malalas, who recorded in his Chronographia that in the year 551 AD, during the 14th indiction, a catastrophic earthquake struck the regions of Palestine, Arabia, Mesopotamia, Antioch, Phoenice Maritima, and Phoenice Libanensis, with Tyre, Sidon, Beirut, Tripolis, Byblos, and Botrys being most affected, alongside parts of other settlements, where many people were trapped.

In response to the disaster, the emperor provided financial assistance to all the affected provinces and undertook restoration efforts for parts of the damaged cities.

The lovely city of Berytus, the jewel of Phoenicia, was completely ruined, and its world-famous architectural treasures were reduced to a heap of rubble, practically nothing but the bare pavements of the buildings being left.

Quaternary uplift recorded by a series of marine-cut terraces between Tripoli and Beirut are consistent with continuing upward movement of the hanging wall of the proposed thrust.