December 18, 1956 Tsunami: Northern Chile
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7 earthquake began at Northern Chile on December 18, 1956 at 02:31:03 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
- December 18, 1956, 02:31:03 UTC
- Source
- Northern Chile
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 7, 33 km deep
- Runups recorded
- 0
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Very doubtful tsunami
- Source location
- 25.500° S, 71.000° 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.
December 18, 1956, 02:31 UTC, 25.5 S, 71 W, magnitude 7.0 MS, depth 33 km. (reference #164)
December 18, 1956, 02:31 UTC, 25.5 S, 71 W, magnitude 7.0 MS, depth 33 km. (reference #552)
More
Every tsunami in 1956The 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 1865.