May 24, 1940 Tsunami: Central Peru
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 8.2 earthquake began at Central Peru on May 24, 1940 at 16:33:57 UTC. The water rose as high as 2 meters. Its effects were recorded at 5 places. It killed 179 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
- May 24, 1940, 16:33:57 UTC
- Source
- Central Peru
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 8.2, 60 km deep
- Maximum water height
- 2 m (6.6 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 5
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- 1.5
- Tsunami magnitude (Iida)
- 1
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Questionable tsunami
- Source location
- 10.500° S, 77.000° W
The toll
- Deaths
- 179 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Injuries
- 3,500 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
- 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.
Oscillations in the sea level developed. (reference #415)
Reference #552 lists maximum runup of 2 m. Note: Unknown location, unable to determine original source of information.
After the earthquake there was a small tsunami was generated: in Ancon the sea retreated about 150 m, left the dock dry and slowly inundated land and passed over the pier's sea wall, flooding the hangars on the Air Base. The phenomenon of the retreat of the sea was observed in La Punta, Callao and Pisco. Note: unofficial translation. (reference #4248)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ancon | Peru | 139 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Callao | Peru | 172 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| La Punta | Peru | 175 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Pisco | Peru | 365 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Huarmey | Peru | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1940The 1900sTsunamis of PeruThe 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 1739.