October 29, 1900 Tsunami: Mancuto, Venezuela
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7.7 earthquake began at Mancuto, Venezuela on October 29, 1900 at 09:11 UTC. The water rose as high as 10 meters. Its effects were recorded at 6 places. It killed 25 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
The tsunami
- Date
- October 29, 1900, 09:11 UTC
- Source
- Mancuto, Venezuela
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 7.7, 25 km deep
- Maximum water height
- 10 m (32.8 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 6
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Probable tsunami
- Source location
- 11.000° N, 66.000° W
The toll
- Deaths
- 25 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million); Severe (about $5 to $25 million) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Houses destroyed
- Few (about 1 to 50); Many (101 to 1,000) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Houses damaged
- 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.
Tsunamis associated with an earthquake off the coast of Macuto, occurred at Puerto Tuy and possibly at Macuto.
1900, Macuto, Puerto Truy, 10 m wave. (reference #383)
The October 29th, 1900 earthquake strikes this region before sunrise, still at full darkness (4:40-4:45 am local time) and the tsunami, as mentioned by one of the accounts, strikes the region around half an hour later, still at dark. (reference #12526)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paparo | Venezuela | 68 | 4 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Puerto Tuy | Venezuela | 74 | 10 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| San Jose DE Rio Chico | Venezuela | 77 | 5 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Macuto | Venezuela | 105 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Los Roques | Venezuela | 129 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Rio Neveri, Barcelona | Venezuela | 170 | 3 | Runup height, post-tsunami survey |
More
Every tsunami in 1900The 1900sTsunamis of VenezuelaThe 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 1276.