September 1, 1530 Tsunami: Cumana, Venezuela
A tsunami caused by an earthquake began at Cumana, Venezuela on September 1, 1530 at 14:30 UTC. The water rose as high as 7.3 meters. Its effects were recorded at 4 places. It killed 4 people.
Where the waves reached
The source (white) and every runup with a place, colored by the water height recorded there. A ring is a runup NCEI marks doubtful.
- Under 1 m
- 1 to 3 m
- 3 to 10 m
- 10 to 30 m
- 30 m and more
- Height not recorded
The tsunami
- Date
- September 1, 1530, 14:30 UTC
- Source
- Cumana, Venezuela
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- The earthquake
- Maximum water height
- 7.3 m (24.0 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 4
- Tsunami magnitude (Iida)
- 2.6
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 10.700° N, 64.100° W
The toll
- Deaths
- 4
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Many (101 to 1,000)
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Ground cracking occurred on mountains near the Gulf of Cariaco, Venezuela. "Black fetid salt water welled up out of the macaceous schist, mixed with asphaltum and accompanied by sulphurous odor" (Reference #1726). A fort near Cumana (Reference #1494) and many houses were destroyed perhaps by the combined effects of the earthquake and tsunami.
"[...]village at 2 leagues away (about 11 km away; league = 6666.7 "varas" or sticks = 5572.7 m) was drowned and they were able to escape swimming while 4 Indians drowned and many young people had lost all their clothing[...]" (reference #12526)
Reference #124 states many people drowned.
Reference #14459 states that the waves reached the mouth of the Manzanares River, destroying a fortress of lime and stone that had been built there, and the Gulf of Cariaco, where several indigenous villages were flooded and many of their inhabitants died. Some residents reported that they swam out of their homes. A chieftain saved his people by leading them to the top of a hill. Fallen trees and fish hanging from their branches were observed.
Every runup
Nearest the source first. Heights are above sea level at the time; a tide gauge reads half the wave’s full height.
| Where | Country | Km from source | Water height, m | Inland, m | Measured by | First wave, UTC | Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Isla Cubagua | Venezuela | 16 | 6 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Cumana | Venezuela | 26 | 6 | 500 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||
| Cariaco Gulf | Venezuela | 35 | 2 | Eyewitness observation of water height | 4 | ||
| Paria | Venezuela | 212 | 7.3 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1530The 1500sTsunamis of VenezuelaThe earthquakeThis day in weather historyAlerts in force
Sources
Tsunami events and runups from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI tsunami event 163.