August 23, 1715 Tsunami: Peru
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake began at Peru on August 23, 1715 at 00:00 UTC.
Where the waves reached
The source of the tsunami. No runup with a place is recorded for it.
- 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
- August 23, 1715, 00:00 UTC
- Source
- Peru
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 7.5, 80 km deep
- Runups recorded
- 0
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Probable tsunami
- Source location
- 17.300° S, 70.800° W
The toll
- Deaths
- Few (about 1 to 50) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Houses destroyed
- 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.
August 22, 1715, northern Chile, 18.5 S, 70.3 W, magnitude 7.5, tsunami generated. (reference #552)
August 22, 1715, at 7 p.m. Great earthquake in Moquegua, Peru (17.18 S, 70.93 W), which also ruined Arica, Chile (18.5 S, 70.33 W) and caused large landslides, etc. Magnitude about 7.5. (reference #252)
August 22, 1715, magnitude 7.5. (reference #164)
More
Every tsunami in 1715The 1700sTsunamis 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 385.