January 23, 1792 Tsunami: Azores, Portugal

Tsunami at Velas, Ilha de Sao Jorge. Some property destroyed. (reference #41)

Tsunami at Velas (S. Jorge), major damage. (reference #1919)

On 23 January 1792, a flood event was described at S. Jorge (Avellar, 1902) that caused damage to houses (in one case, down to the foundations) and destroyed sections of the defence walls, threatening to inundate the main square. The wording of the account is not sufficiently explicit to guarantee a tsunami origin, although it is referred to as such in the NGDC database; a tsunami origin is strongly suggested by the large run-up height (circa 8 m), which almost doubles the elevation reached by breakers impinging in this shore during extreme storms, such as the 1996 Christmas Day event, one of the most devastating coastal storms that struck the Azores islands in the 20th century. (reference #5046)

1792 January 23, Very doubtful tsunami, Meteorological cause (?). There are no references to an earthquake or any other event that might have triggered the 23 January 1792 tsunami; however, the flood description is very clear, and probably due to a meteorological phenomenon like a storm. (reference #13057)