July 13, 1936 Tsunami: Northern Chile
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7.3 earthquake began at Northern Chile on July 13, 1936 at 11:12:15 UTC. The water rose as high as 1 meters. Its effects were recorded at 3 places. It killed 1 person, 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
Travel times
How long the first wave took to reach each part of the ocean, one line for each hour up to 24, estimated from the source and the depth of the sea.
The travel times are computed in your browser, which needs JavaScript.
- 1 to 4 hours
- 5 to 6 hours
- 7 to 14 hours
- 15 hours and more
Computed in your browser the way NOAA’s own travel time maps are: the wave travels at the square root of gravity times the depth, over NOAA’s ETOPO1 depths averaged to a 10 arc-minute grid. Checked against NOAA NCEI’s maps for 21 tsunamis over the first 24 hours, these lines fall within 10 minutes of NCEI’s at half the points compared and within 52 minutes at 9 in 10. They give when the first wave could arrive, not how high it is; bays, harbors and island chains finer than the grid can see it later. Not for use in a warning: see tsunami.gov.
The tsunami
- Date
- July 13, 1936, 11:12:15 UTC
- Source
- Northern Chile
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 7.3, 60 km deep
- Maximum water height
- 1 m (3.3 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 3
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- 0.5
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 24.500° S, 70.000° W
The toll
- Deaths
- 1 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Injuries
- 40 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.
July 13th, 1936, 7:15 [local time]. There was a strong earthquake with source north of Taltal. Oscillations in sea level began at Taltal 3 hours before the earthquake. They intensified half an hour after the earthquake and reached a maximum another hour later. The maximal amplitude of oscillations was most likely 1 1/2 m. The tsunami was registered by the tide gauges at Antofagasta and Talcahuano. At Antofagasta, the maximal period was 40 minutes, that is, it was equal to the period of those oscillations in level which began 3 hours before the earthquake. At Talcahuano, the tsunami was very weak and was observed from 10:00 to 14:00. Gutenberg, Richter (1954) : 13.VII; llh12m15s; 24.5 S., 70 W.; M=7.3. (reference #415)
July 13, 1936, Chile. Epicenter 24 S., 70 W. At Taltal, shock demolished buildings. For an hour the level of the sea oscillated approximately one yard. (reference #39)
July 13m 1936, 11:12 UTC, 24.5 S, 70 W, depth 60 km, 7.3 MS, runup height 1 m. (reference #552)
July 13, 1936, 11:12 UTC, 24.5 S, 70 W, depth 60 km, magnitude 7.3 MS, Chile, place of observation: Taltal, height 0.5 m. (reference #79)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antofagasta | Chile | 103 | 0.18 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Taltal | Chile | 112 | 1 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Talcahuano | Chile | 1,384 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) |
More
Every tsunami in 1936The 1900sTsunamis 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 1691.