January 30, 1766 Tsunami: Gibraltar, UK Territories
A tsunami probably caused by an earthquake began at Gibraltar, UK Territories on January 30, 1766. It killed 60 people, counting the earthquake or eruption that caused it.
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
- January 30, 1766
- Source
- Gibraltar, UK Territories
- Cause
- Questionable earthquake
- Runups recorded
- 0
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Very doubtful tsunami
- Source location
- 36.000° N, 5.300° W
The toll
- Deaths
- 60 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
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.
1766 January 30. Gibraltar. "...there was a terrible storm... The fortress was severely damaged, and the river's current swept away the 18- to 24-pound cannons. At the same time, the ships in the harbor rocked as if from an earthquake; a strong movement of the water was also observed", found in the newspaper St. Petersburg Vedomosti. Listed as "probably a tsunami" because “the fortress could not have been damaged by a storm”. (reference #14362)
Reference #14365 describes the storm with no mention of the fort damage, or an earthquake
More
Every tsunami in 1766The 1700sTsunamis of UK TerritoriesThis 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 6165.