November 30, 1645 Tsunami: W. Luzon Island, Philippines

Name: November 30, 1645 Tsunami: W. Luzon Island, Philippines
Start: 1645-11-30
Location: W. Luzon Island, Philippines

November 30, 1645 · 600 deaths · Very doubtful tsunami

A tsunami caused by a magnitude 8 earthquake began at W. Luzon Island, Philippines on November 30, 1645 at 12:00 UTC. Its effects were recorded at 1 place. It killed 600 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

Tsunami warnings in force

Travel times

How long the first wave took to reach each part of the ocean, one line for each hour up to 24, estimated from the source and the depth of the sea.

The travel times are computed in your browser, which needs JavaScript.

1 to 4 hours
5 to 6 hours
7 to 14 hours
15 hours and more

Computed in your browser the way NOAA’s own travel time maps are: the wave travels at the square root of gravity times the depth, over NOAA’s ETOPO1 depths averaged to a 10 arc-minute grid. Checked against NOAA NCEI’s maps for 21 tsunamis over the first 24 hours, these lines fall within 10 minutes of NCEI’s at half the points compared and within 52 minutes at 9 in 10. They give when the first wave could arrive, not how high it is; bays, harbors and island chains finer than the grid can see it later. Not for use in a warning: see tsunami.gov.

The tsunami

Date: November 30, 1645, 12:00 UTC
Source: W. Luzon Island, Philippines
Cause: Earthquake
Earthquake: Magnitude 8
Runups recorded: 1
Waters: Ocean
How certain: Very doubtful tsunami
Source location: 14.400° N, 121.000° E

The toll

Deaths: 600 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
Injuries: 2,500 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
Damage: Extreme (about $25 million or more) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
Houses destroyed: Very many (over 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.

Reference #414:

1645, November 30, 20:00 [local Time]. There was an earthquake, more catastrophic than any previous on the Philippine Islands... The number of dead surpassed 600 and there were 2500 injured. From the provinces of Cagayan and Northern Ilocos, situated on the extreme north, changes in relief were reported: the course of rivers changed, loose ground settled, sand was ejected from cracks or gryphoons, and new springs appeared. One could not remain standing... Numerous subsequent shocks were felt until the end of 1646; the strongest of them occurred on December 5 at 23:00 [Local Time]. During the earthquake (or the strongest aftershock), "the succession and movement of waves on the river at Manila was so enormous that it seemed the water would submerge all the land. The fury of the waves made the river leave its banks, and its water was thrown over the top of the bridge" (Repetti, 1946). [The hypothesis by Iida, Cox and others (Iida et al, 1967; Cox, 1970), that this agitation was caused not by a tsunami but by seiches in Manila Bay is plausible.]

Reference #1187:

1645, November 30, 8:00 p.m. Manila and its vicinity. All Luzon except Ambos and Camarines, Albay: This was the most destructive and memorable earthquake in the history of Manila. It was so great an earthquake in this city that it ruined most of the buildings. As these were of stone, many persons among the natives and slaves were killed. It was said this earthquake claimed 3,000 victims. At about 8:00 p.m. in Manila the sea rose with a broad swell and lashed the very walls.

Reference #79:

1645, December 5, 23:00. Near Manila. tsunami observed Manila, Luzon I. River agitated and overflowed. Probably a seiche rather than a tsunami from the bay.

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
Manila	Philippines	23			Eyewitness observation of water height

Every tsunami in 1645 The 1600s Tsunamis of Philippines The earthquake This day in weather history Alerts 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 260.