April 20, 1949 Tsunami: Central Chile
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7.3 earthquake began at Central Chile on April 20, 1949 at 03:29:07 UTC.
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 20, 1949, 03:29:07 UTC
- Source
- Central Chile
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 7.3, 70 km deep
- Runups recorded
- 0
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Questionable tsunami
- Source location
- 38.000° S, 73.500° W
The toll
The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this tsunami.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
April 20, 1949, 03:29 UTC, 38 S, 73.5 W, magnitude 7.3 MS, depth 70 km. (reference #164)
April 20, 1949, 03:29 UTC, 38 S, 73.5 W, magnitude 7.3 MS, depth 70 km, S. Central Chile. (reference #552)
More
Every tsunami in 1949The 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 1792.