On the early morning of December 28, 1908, the Italian city of Messina awoke to the deadliest earthquake in European history. Striking just days after Christmas in the Straits of Messina, the 7.2 (USGS) magnitude quake shook for nearly 30 seconds, toppling several story buildings and burying alive it's occupants.Minutes later, the tsunami came, measuring somewhere between 20 to 40 feet high.he ground shook for some 30 to 40 seconds, and the destruction was felt within a 300 km radius. Moments after the earthquake, a 40 feet (12 m) tsunami struck nearby coasts causing even more devastation. 93% of structures in Messina were destroyed and some 70,000 residents were killed.