April 6, 1943 Tsunami: Central Chile
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 8.2 earthquake began at Central Chile on April 6, 1943 at 16:07:15 UTC. The water rose as high as 1 meters. Its effects were recorded at 12 places in at least 3 countries. It killed 11 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
- April 6, 1943, 16:07:15 UTC
- Source
- Central Chile
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 8.2, 35 km deep
- Maximum water height
- 1 m (3.3 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 12
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 30.750° S, 72.000° W
The toll
- Deaths
- 11 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Few (about 1 to 50) 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.
1943, April 6, 1943, 12:07 [local time]. There was a strong earthquake with source 200 km to the north of Santiago. In all, 11 people died as a result of the earthquake.
There was a small tsunami which damaged fishing boats at Los Vilos. The tsunami arrived at the tide gauge at Valparaiso at 16:30, that is 22.3 minutes after the earthquake. The initial height of oscillations was 80 cm, the average period about 40 minutes, and the duration of oscillations about 36 hours. The tsunami was registered in the Hawaiian Islands, California and Japan. At Honolulu, the amplitude of oscillations was 1 cm, the period 20 minutes. The amplitude of oscillations was 10 cm at Hanasaki (Hokkaido Island) and Shimosato (Wakayama Prefecture), 25 cm at Kushimoto (Wakayama Prefecture) 30 cm at Nagasaki. The travel time to Kushimoto was 23 hours 25 minutes. (reference #415)
1943, April 6, 16:07 UTC. Coast of Central Chile about 1 m high. (reference #150)
1943, April 6, 12:07 p.m. (16:07 UTC). Illapel earthquake. This great earthquake destroyed most of the towns of Combarbala, Ovalle and Illapel, about 200 km north of Santiago. There was damage in a wide region, including Santiago... A minor tsunami caused damage to fishing vessels in Los Vilos... (reference #252)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Vilos | Chile | 137 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Valparaiso | Chile | 255 | 0.4 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 6, 16:30 | ||
| San Diego, CA, CA | United States | 8,483 | 0.02 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Terminal Island (Los Angeles), CA, CA | United States | 8,636 | 0.02 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| San Francisco, CA, CA | United States | 9,225 | 0.03 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Crescent City, CA, CA | United States | 9,647 | 0.1 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Honolulu, Oahu, HI, HI | United States | 10,821 | 0.01 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 7, 07:37 | ||
| Hanasaki | Japan | 16,438 | 0.05 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Shimosato | Japan | 17,383 | 0.1 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Uragami | Japan | 17,385 | 0.05 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Kushimoto | Japan | 17,396 | 0.13 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Nagasaki | Japan | 17,948 | 0.15 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) |
More
Every tsunami in 1943The 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 1752.