Helike was impacted by a natural disaster.
Helike ( [ ˈhɛlᵻkiː ] Ἑλίκη , pronounced [ heˈlikɛː ] , modern [ eˈlici ] ) was an ancient Greek city that was submerged by a tsunami in the winter of 373 BC . Modern research attributes the catastrophe to an earthquake and accompanying tsunami which destroyed and submerged the city . A tsunami ( from 津波 , `` harbour wave '' ; Although the impact of tsunamis is limited to coastal areas , their destructive power can be enormous and they can affect entire ocean basins ; the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was among the deadliest natural disasters in human history with at least 230,000 people killed or missing in 14 countries bordering the Indian Ocean .