December 7, 1677 Tsunami: W. Luzon Island, Philippines
A tsunami caused by an earthquake began at W. Luzon Island, Philippines on December 7, 1677 at 11:30 UTC. Its effects were recorded at 1 place. It killed 2 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
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
- December 7, 1677, 11:30 UTC
- Source
- W. Luzon Island, Philippines
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- The earthquake
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- 1
- Tsunami magnitude (Iida)
- 1
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Questionable tsunami
- Source location
- 14.500° N, 120.500° E
The toll
- Deaths
- 2 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Injuries
- Many (about 101 to 1,000) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Houses damaged
- Few (about 1 to 50) 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:
1677, December 7, 19:30 [local time]. There was a prolonged earthquake in the central and southern parts of Luzon Island. Sea waves were observed at a number of places and it was reported that boats at sea almost sank. [The possibility of a tsunami is not excluded.]
Reference #1187:
1677, December 7. Central and Southern Luzon: Manila -
There were terrible vibrations which lasted a long time... There were sea waves in some places, and reports of boats at sea almost submerged by waves. These effects indicate an origin in the China Sea. In Manila, chasms opened in the ground. Although the author did not mention the region principally affected by the tsunamis, it was supposed that the waves were raised in the China Sea near the west coast of Cavite, Bataan and Zambales.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luzon Island | Philippines | 11 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1677The 1600sTsunamis of PhilippinesThe 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 323.