Tsunamis in 1880

August 15, 1880 Tsunami: Central Chile

August 15, 1880 · 2 deaths · 600 houses destroyed · Very doubtful tsunami

A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7.7 earthquake began at Central Chile on August 15, 1880 at 12:48 UTC. Its effects were recorded at 2 places. It killed 2 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
August 15, 1880, 12:48 UTC
Source
Central Chile
Cause
Earthquake
Earthquake
Magnitude 7.7
Runups recorded
2
Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
0.5
Waters
Ocean
How certain
Very doubtful tsunami
Source location
31.620° S, 71.180° W

The toll

Deaths
2 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
600 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.

1880, August 15, 8:48 [local time]. Event validity questionable, 31 S, 71.5 W, earthquake magnitude 7, tsunami intensity 0.5. A strong earthquake occurred with source north of Santiago. At Illapel, a loud rumbling was heard from the north... Since it was a holiday, all the people were in the streets, as a result of which there were only two casualties.

There were strong tremors at Coquimbo. Large columns of water arose at sea, as a result of which the anchor chain snapped in one ship. The underwater cable across the mouth of the Limari River was broken at a depth of 1.8 km.

(reference #415)

The submarine cable was broken at a depth of 1800 meters off the estuary of the Limari River...The epicenter of this earthquake could have been offshore... (reference #252)

2880, August 15, 12:48 UTC. 31 S 71.5 W, magnitude 7.0 MS, runup height 1.0 m, tsunami intensity 0.5, N. Central Chile. (reference #552)

Every runup

Nearest the source first. Heights are above sea level at the time; a tide gauge reads half the wave’s full height.

WhereCountryKm from sourceWater height, mInland, mMeasured byFirst wave, UTCDeaths
Limari RiverChile110Eyewitness observation of water height
CoquimboChile186Eyewitness observation of water height

More

Every tsunami in 1880The 1800sTsunamis of ChileThe 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 1118.