August 24, 1942 Tsunami: S. Peru
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 8.2 earthquake and a landslide began at S. Peru on August 24, 1942 at 22:50:27 UTC. The water rose as high as 2 meters. Its effects were recorded at 3 places. It killed 30 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
- August 24, 1942, 22:50:27 UTC
- Source
- S. Peru
- Cause
- Earthquake and landslide
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 8.2, 60 km deep
- Maximum water height
- 2 m (6.6 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 3
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- 1
- Tsunami magnitude (Iida)
- 1
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 15.000° S, 76.000° W
The toll
- Deaths
- 30 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Injuries
- Few (about 1 to 50); 25 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million); Severe (about $5 to $25 million) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Houses destroyed
- Few (about 1 to 50); 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.
On August 24, 1942, at 17:51 [local time] there was a magnitude 8.1 earthquake with a pleistoseismic area of 18,000 km2 between 14o and 16o S., in the boundary regions of the departments of Ica and Arequipa. The maximum intensity was estimated at 9 degrees; 30 people died and 25 were injured.
At Lomas, the sea retreated 200 m and then flooded the settlement, destroying moorages and customs warehouses. Several people were injured.
The tsunami was registered by the tide gauges at Matarani and Callao. At Matarani, the record began about 39 minutes after, and at Callao, 1 hour and 39 minutes after the earthquake. At Callao, the amplitude of oscillations was 1.6 m, the period 30 minutes; at Matarani, 0.5 m, and 21 minutes.
It was supposed that the tsunami was due to an underwater slide or avalanche, triggered by the earthquake.
(above from reference #415)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lomas | Peru | 138 | 2 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Callao LA Punta | Peru | 348 | 1.6 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 24, 23:33 | ||
| Matarani | Peru | 472 | 0.5 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 25, 00:33 |
More
Every tsunami in 1942The 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 1751.