December 27, 1722 Tsunami: Tavira, Algarve, Portugal
A tsunami caused by an earthquake began at Tavira, Algarve, Portugal on December 27, 1722 at 16:30 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
- December 27, 1722, 16:30 UTC
- Source
- Tavira, Algarve, Portugal
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- The earthquake
- Runups recorded
- 0
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Questionable tsunami
- Source location
- 37.200° N, 7.600° W
The toll
- Deaths
- Many (about 101 to 1,000) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Houses destroyed
- 27 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.
December 27, 1722, Portugal. The shock was felt at Portimao (37o08'N., 8o3'W.) and the south coast in the vicinity of Cabo de Sho Vicente (37o01'N., 9o00'W.). The sea was much agitated. (reference #41)
December 27, 1722, Algarve. River withdrawal. Questionable tsunami. (reference #4139)
December 27, 1722, Portugal, Villanova, and all south coast from Cape St. Vincent. Sea was agitated. (reference #132, 1055)
December 27, 1722. Sea was much agitated, and the river Accava was dry for some hours. (reference #521)
December 27, 1722, 17:30 UTC. Definite tsunami. (reference #4649)
December 27, 1722, 17:30 UTC. Definite tsunami. (reference #11164)
The flooding of Tavira area is well documented and persisted in the collective memory of the population. According to the “Chronica Serafica da Santa Provincia dos Algarves” (Belem 1750, cap. XXII, pp. 200–201), some days after, a thanksgiving procession took place in the town of Tavira, which was repeated every year since, in the same day of 27th December, with the presence of the Senate, the Communities, and a large amount of people “to keep the memory of the great benefit, although the large damage suffered, the entire town could have been entirely submerged” (Belém, 1750, cap. XXII, pp. 200–201). [...]The historical information available for the event is rather scarce. Most of the existing compilations are based on the work of Mendonca (1758) and the newspaper “Gazeta de Lisboa”. Even the description of the inundation is largely insufficient. Nevertheless, the existing testimonies and the importance of the thanksgiving procession that was kept in Tavira for a long time support the conclusion that the shallow areas close to the village were largely inundated as a consequence of a long period wave generated by the earthquake. (reference #12951)
More
Every tsunami in 1722The 1700sTsunamis of PortugalThe 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 393.