December 29, 1854 Tsunami: Ligurian Sea, France
A tsunami caused by an earthquake began at Ligurian Sea, France on December 29, 1854 at 02:45 UTC. Its effects were recorded at 2 places.
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
Travel times
How long the first wave took to reach each part of the ocean, one line for each hour up to 24, estimated from the source and the depth of the sea.
The travel times are computed in your browser, which needs JavaScript.
- 1 to 4 hours
- 5 to 6 hours
- 7 to 14 hours
- 15 hours and more
Computed in your browser the way NOAA’s own travel time maps are: the wave travels at the square root of gravity times the depth, over NOAA’s ETOPO1 depths averaged to a 10 arc-minute grid. Checked against NOAA NCEI’s maps for 21 tsunamis over the first 24 hours, these lines fall within 10 minutes of NCEI’s at half the points compared and within 52 minutes at 9 in 10. They give when the first wave could arrive, not how high it is; bays, harbors and island chains finer than the grid can see it later. Not for use in a warning: see tsunami.gov.
The tsunami
- Date
- December 29, 1854, 02:45 UTC
- Source
- Ligurian Sea, France
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- The earthquake
- Runups recorded
- 2
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Questionable tsunami
- Source location
- 43.800° N, 7.900° E
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million); Moderate (about $1 to $5 million) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Houses destroyed
- Some (about 51 to 100) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Houses damaged
- Some (about 51 to 100) 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.
1854, December (possibly February) 31. Ligurian Sea, France and Italy. 43o45' N, 7o50' E, earthquake intensity VIII, tsunami reliability 2. An earthquake occurred; it was only about 10s long. The strongest shocks took place on the coast from Cagnes up to the Cape Bordighera. A horrible rumble was heard in Menton together with a feeling of strong shocks. Here many houses were destroyed as well as in Ventimiglia. The earthquake was strong in Oneglia. Isoseists of the earthquake extend in the longitudinal direction...
The following information on the phenomena in the sea was
reported. The sea in Nice which was in the state of strong excitation before the earthquake, according to an eyewitness, became calm by 05h. According to another
eyewitness, the sea was as flat as a mirror during the main shock and aftershocks. A third eyewitness reported that the sea was calm during the earthquake, and that its water did not undergo any considerable movements. This eyewitness lived several hundred yards from the shore and reached it in an instant. He did not see waves rising near the coastal ridge. In addition, he spoke with fishermen, who usually begun their work near the estuary of the Le Paillon River before dawn, and they assured him they had noticed nothing unusual.
The sea in Menton having been highly turbulent overnight before earthquake became very calm after it, but then a roughness resumed [Perrey, 1855a, 1856]. At the same time, one of the eyewitnesses reported that the sea near Nice ran high 2 or 3 days after the earthquake and onto the coast up to the houses of the Promenade des Anglais and up to the houses of the street of Via San Francesco di Paola and up to Corso, destroying some low walls and a gate. The water, which was always calm in the Porto di Lympia, ran so high that it broke two little vessels. There was neither a storm
nor wind, and because of that the phenomenon was considered a tsunami.
(above from reference #2130)
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 | First wave, UTC | Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Menton | France | 32 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Nice | France | 51 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1854The 1800sTsunamis of FranceThe earthquakeThis 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 3377.