July 10, 1862 Tsunami: Gold Coast, Ghana

Name: July 10, 1862 Tsunami: Gold Coast, Ghana
Start: 1862-07-10
Location: Gold Coast, Ghana

July 10, 1862 · 3 deaths · Questionable tsunami

A tsunami caused by a magnitude 6.5 earthquake began at Gold Coast, Ghana on July 10, 1862. Its effects were recorded at 1 place. It killed 3 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: July 10, 1862
Source: Gold Coast, Ghana
Cause: Earthquake
Earthquake: Magnitude 6.5
Runups recorded: 1
Waters: Ocean
How certain: Questionable tsunami
Source location: 7.000° N, 0.400° E

The toll

Deaths: 3 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.

1862 July 10, 08h 15m, Ghana; MF 6.5. At Gounkovhe the sea retired a distance of 80 m from the beach compared with the normal daily tidal change of 20 m. (reference #1214)

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
Gounkovhe	Togo				Eyewitness observation of water height

Every tsunami in 1862 The 1800s Tsunamis of Ghana 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 3560.