June 21, 1746 Tsunami: Matina, Costa Rica

Reference #13478 lists as probable tsunami despite the use of huracán [hurricane] since earthquake type effects experienced prior to huracán.

Reference #12928:

21 June 1746. Probable tsunami.

The oldest tsunami record [in Costa Rica] we were able to find corresponded to 1746, when the Interim Commander of San Fernando Fort at the mouth of Matina river reported: “a hurricane came suddenly from the sea that put us in great horror and confusion seeming to be the last days of life, taking in its first fury the house where the officers live leaving everything destroyed and useless, as well as the gunroom […] presenting before this destruction an earthquake” (Peraldo & Montero, 2007, p. 34; translated by the authors).

We think that this event very likely corresponds to a tsunami rather than a hurricane, considering that the earthquake happened right before the “hurricane”. Also, the use of the verb “sobrevenir” in the original Spanish version, which definition is “to come suddenly” (RAE, 2014), indicates a sudden event rather than a sustained one, as it is the case of hurricanes. Furthermore, the phrase “taking in its first fury the house where the officers live” suggest the arrival of several waves.

The concept of tsunami did not exist in the residents of Boca Matina at that date, which might explain the confusion.

It cannot be assured that the report corresponds to a tsunami, as there are other possible explanations like a storm.

Note: lat/long is approximate, not found in literature.