June 7, 1911 Tsunami: Mexico
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7.6 earthquake began at Mexico on June 7, 1911 at 11:02:49 UTC.
Where the waves reached
The source of the tsunami. No runup with a place is recorded for it.
- 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
- June 7, 1911, 11:02:49 UTC
- Source
- Mexico
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 7.6, 30 km deep
- Runups recorded
- 0
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Questionable tsunami
- Source location
- 18.362° N, 102.471° W
The toll
- Deaths
- Many (about 101 to 1,000) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Injuries
- Many (about 101 to 1,000) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million); Severe (about $5 to $25 million) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Houses destroyed
- Very many (over 1,000) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Houses damaged
- Very many (over 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.
Reference #13627:
Miranda y Marron (1912–1914) visited the disaster area in Zapotlán and Colima. In his report, he included an isoseismal map, but without the location of the epicenter, and a letter from Severo Diaz who informed him about the absence of damaged churches in the coastal region. The news appeared in North American press in which the earthquake was described in the following way: “…second earthquake at 5 o’clock yesterday afternoon the severest in the western and southern sections. Meager reports say it was accompanied by tidal wave on the Pacific coast. Communication with several towns has been interrupted, and has caused the report that they have been wiped out” (The Jeffersonian-Gazette, 1911)(ref #13636). Major fear was about Port of Manzanillo “Especially is anxiety felt for the seaport…, which is connected by rail with Colima. A large section of this town is near the water’s edge and a tidal wave of any great force would practically wipe it off the map” (The Syracuse Herald, 1911).
Reference #13636 also mentions that a “tidal wave swept the bay of Campeche [off Yucatan], doing heavy damage”, in addition to a tidal wave on Pacific Coast.
Reference #13024 and #13234 mentions disastrous flooding in a report (Zapotlan, Jal., Vizcaino:40-50(B)) from La Luz de Occidente.
More
Every tsunami in 1911The 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 5898.