February 29, 1960 Tsunami: Morocco
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 6.8 earthquake began at Morocco on February 29, 1960 at 23:40:12 UTC. Its effects were recorded at 1 place. It killed 13,100 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
- February 29, 1960, 23:40:12 UTC
- Source
- Morocco
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 6.8
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Very doubtful tsunami
- Source location
- 30.500° N, 9.500° W
The toll
- Deaths
- 13,100 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Injuries
- 25,000 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Damage
- $120 million with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Houses destroyed
- 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.
Agadir was destroyed by two shocks and the accompanying fire. Early reports mention a tsunami wave, which reached 300 yards inland and did great damage in the area close to the sea. Since no wave was recorded on a local tide gage and a fishing boat slip was not damaged, later sources have denied the existence of the wave. (Reference #41)
One of the most universally accepted was the report of a tidal wave following the earthquake which swept inland for a distance of several hundred yards along the edge of the bay. No reporter who examined the waterfront after the
earthquake was able to find any evidence of high water, however, and no reliable witness of the phenomenon has been found, so this report must be discounted completely... As was, stated in Chapter 1, there as no evidence of heavy tidal waves sweeping into the harbor. However, a Dutch intercoastal freighter which was moored along the side of the quay at the time of the earthquake reported that large
swells raised the level of water in the harbor sufficiently
to cause parting of its mooring lines. (reference #1183)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agadir | Morocco | 14 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1960The 1900sTsunamis of MoroccoThe 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 1897.