October 9, 1790 Tsunami: Oran, Algeria

Name: October 9, 1790 Tsunami: Oran, Algeria
Start: 1790-10-09
Location: Oran, Algeria

October 9, 1790 · 1.8 m · 3,000 deaths · Probable tsunami

A tsunami caused by an earthquake began at Oran, Algeria on October 9, 1790 at 01:15 UTC. The water rose as high as 1.8 meters. Its effects were recorded at 3 places in at least 2 countries. It killed 3,000 people, counting the earthquake or eruption that caused it.

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

Tsunami warnings in force

The tsunami

Date: October 9, 1790, 01:15 UTC
Source: Oran, Algeria
Cause: Earthquake
Earthquake: The earthquake
Maximum water height: 1.8 m (5.9 ft)
Runups recorded: 3
Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura): 4
Waters: Ocean
How certain: Probable tsunami
Source location: 35.700° N, 0.600° W

The toll

Deaths: 3,000 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
Damage: Severe (about $5 to $25 million) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
Houses destroyed: Many (101 to 1,000) 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.

1790 October 09, 01:15 UTC, 35.42 N 00.36 W, intensity X, Event reliability 3 (probable). Flooding Spain-Africa coasts. (reference #4139)

1790 October 09. Tsunami occurred in western part of the Mediterranean Sea (Sea of Alboran). Strong earthquakes occurred on October 8-10. Tsunami originated which flooded the north shore of Africa and the southern shore of Spain. The sea in Oran, Algeria, and Cartagena, Spain, rose to such a height that people working on a moorage were forced to run away. (reference #2130)

1790 October 09, 01:15 UTC, 35.42 N 00.36 W. Event reliability 2 (questionable). (reference #12955)

In Oran the sea first withdrew and then violently returned to its position (Grimarest, 1790). Seamenfell in the sea from their vessel due to water agitation (López Marinas and Salord, 1990). (reference #11164)

1790 October 09, 01:15 UTC, 35.7 N 00.6 W, magnitude 6.7 (Mw) Event reliability 1 (improbable). The maximum inundation distance at Almeria is noticeable in the dry land. Information about tsunami waves on the Moroccan coast are not find, but given the importance of the tsunami event on Algeria coast and its manifestation on the southern coast of Spain, let’s us not exclude the evidence of its impact on the northern Moroccan coasts. (reference #8635)

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
Oran	Algeria	6			Eyewitness observation of water height
Almeria	Spain	207		50	Eyewitness observation of water height
Cartagena	Spain	214	1.8		Eyewitness observation of water height

Every tsunami in 1790 The 1700s Tsunamis of Algeria The earthquake This day in weather history Alerts 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 3075.