April 15, 1941 Tsunami: Mexico
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7.6 earthquake began at Mexico on April 15, 1941 at 19:09:56 UTC. It killed 84 people, counting the earthquake or eruption that caused it.
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
- April 15, 1941, 19:09:56 UTC
- Source
- Mexico
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 7.6, 30 km deep
- Runups recorded
- 0
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Probable tsunami
- Source location
- 18.680° N, 102.989° W
The toll
- Deaths
- 84 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Injuries
- Many (about 101 to 1,000) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Damage
- $2 million 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.
The earthquake of April 15, 1941, is locally considered to be the most destructive of this century. It destroyed or greatly damaged every church and other substantial building in the region, e.g., the churches at Aquila and Coalcoman. Although this quake was followed by a tsunami, the seismic wave was not notable. (reference #13641)
More
Every tsunami in 1941The 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 5901.