July 10, 1586 Tsunami: Central Peru
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 8.5 earthquake began at Central Peru on July 10, 1586 at 00:30 UTC. The water rose as high as 26 meters. Its effects were recorded at 6 places in at least 2 countries. It killed 22 people, counting the earthquake or eruption that caused it.
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
- July 10, 1586, 00:30 UTC
- Source
- Central Peru
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 8.5, 60 km deep
- Maximum water height
- 26 m (85.3 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 6
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- 3.5
- Tsunami magnitude (Iida)
- 4.6
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 12.300° S, 77.700° W
The toll
- Deaths
- 22 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Many (101 to 1,000) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
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.
There was a severe earthquake near Lima, Peru which affected an area along the coast for 1000 km and 120 km inland. In Callao, the sea level fell by 14 m after the earthquake and then rose 24 m, inundating the land for a distance of 250 m, destroying everything in its path and washing the dikes away. Trees and bushes were uprooted and carried away by the water. The wave loosened the anchors of ships lying in the harbour. According to an inscription on a monument in Tokura (the prefecture of Miyagi), a tsunami arrived at the northeast shore of the island of Honshu, where it reached a height of 1-2 m. (reference #415)
The shore was inundated for 10 km inland (reference #79)
Waves were reported as being 84 feet high. The shore was inundated for 6 miles inland. (reference #39)
Reference #552 lists 26 m maximum runup height.
There is no evidence of 1586 Peruvian tsunami arrived in Japan. It was not an Orphan tsunami, rather a Ghost tsunami．(reference #11968)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Callao | Peru | 66 | 24 | 250 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||
| Lima | Peru | 66 | 26 | 10,000 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||
| Trujillo | Peru | 486 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Shizukawa doubtful | Japan | 15,176 | 2.5 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Miyagi (NE Honshu) doubtful | Japan | 15,177 | 2 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Tokura Sanriku (Miyagi Prefecture) doubtful | Japan | 2.5 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1586The 1500sTsunamis of PeruThe 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 194.