1787 Tsunami: Azores, Portugal
A tsunami probably caused by an earthquake began at Azores, Portugal in 1787.
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
- 1787
- Source
- Azores, Portugal
- Cause
- Questionable earthquake
- Runups recorded
- 0
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Very doubtful tsunami
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.
1787. The sea inundated the shore. (reference #132 and #41)
1787. A violent earthquake. The ocean inundated the country and several small islands rose from the bottom of the sea, but soon after disappeared again. (reference #1879)
1787. It should be stressed that the reference to the small islands that quickly disappeared is very similar to that in Macedo [1871] 1981 regarding the violent earthquake of 1757, in which it is stated that north of S. Jorge Island in a ‘distance of 100 fathoms (…) arose eighteen islets (…) The sea between the islets and the main island is navigable’ (pp.186–188). Thus, the Mallet and Mallet (1858) [reference #1879] description is more likely to be a small misunderstanding between dates (1757/1787) that was later propagated by the successive authors who quoted it. (reference #13057)
More
Every tsunami in 1787The 1700sTsunamis of PortugalAlerts 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 540.