The Messina earthquake (magnitude 7.2 on the Richter scale) devastated the city of Messina in Italy. It was the worst European earthquake ever and it created a major tsunami. It happened at 5.20 am on December 28th 1908. It may have killed as many as 200,000 people. These photos were taken by Arturo Tocchetti (1883 - 1968) and have been digitally restored.