February 10, 1731 Tsunami: Southwest Iberian, Morocco
A tsunami probably caused by an earthquake began at Southwest Iberian, Morocco on February 10, 1731. Its effects were recorded at 1 place.
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
- February 10, 1731
- Source
- Southwest Iberian, Morocco
- Cause
- Questionable earthquake
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Very doubtful tsunami
- Source location
- 30.350° N, 9.700° W
The toll
The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this tsunami.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Another tsunami which is referred to have affected the southwestern coast of the Iberian peninsula is that of 1731 (Galbis Rodrigues, 1932). It was believed that that tsunami was originated by the so-called 1731 Agadir earthquake but recent research carried out in Morocco, has not found any coeval data to confirm the existence of this earthquake (Dr. Cherkaoui, Rabat, personnal communication). This earthquake and the corresponding tsunami are therefore situated in the area of the doubtful events. (reference #3348)
1731 Feb 10. Lisbon, “an extraordinary and massive flood of water, which reached the customs house and shops, causing great damage”, found in the newspaper St. Petersburg Vedomosti. Listed as probably a tsunami (reference #14362)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lisbon | Portugal | 927 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1731The 1700sTsunamis of MoroccoThis 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 6161.