April 14, 1907 Tsunami: S. Mexico
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 8.1 earthquake began at S. Mexico on April 14, 1907 at 06:08:06 UTC. The water rose as high as 2 meters. Its effects were recorded at 3 places. It killed 8 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
- April 14, 1907, 06:08:06 UTC
- Source
- S. Mexico
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 8.1
- Maximum water height
- 2 m (6.6 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 3
- Tsunami magnitude (Iida)
- 1
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Probable tsunami
- Source location
- 17.000° N, 100.000° W
The toll
- Deaths
- 8 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 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.
April 14, 1907, 23:31 [local time]. There was a destructive earthquake with source near San Marcos, covering a large part of Mexico. After the earthquake, the sea rushed onshore on the entire stretch of road from Acapulco to Tecuanapa road, which served as a port for the city of Ometepec. At Acapulco, the rise of water reached 185 cm; the water penetrated 150 m inland from the beach. During the ebb tide, several small rivers dried up. In the Tecuanapa roadstead, the water rose 50 cm, as determined from marks on the rocky shores, and flooded the customhouse, [already] severely damaged by the earthquake (reference #415)
In Acapulco, the sea was rough and waves rose to an estimated 2 m height advancing toward the town in a horizontal extension of around three hundred meters. No severe casualties were registered, since inhabitants sought refuge in the upper parts. (reference #369)
Reference #13234 cites an event on 1906 April 14, as well as the 1907 April 14 event, that has similar accounts to the 1907 April 14 event. Probable that 1906 was a typographical error. Reference #11802 propagates this error
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acapulco | Mexico | 20 | 2 | 150 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||
| San Marcos | Mexico | 73 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Tecuanapa | Mexico | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1907The 1900sTsunamis of MexicoThe 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 1353.