February 28, 1969 Tsunami: Portugal
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake began at Portugal on February 28, 1969 at 02:40:32 UTC. The water rose as high as 0.9 meters. Its effects were recorded at 32 places in at least 6 countries. It killed 25 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 28, 1969, 02:40:32 UTC
- Source
- Portugal
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 7.8, 22 km deep
- Maximum water height
- 0.9 m (3.0 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 32
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 36.017° N, 10.950° W
The toll
- Deaths
- 25 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Injuries
- 80 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Houses destroyed
- Many (101 to 1,000) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Houses damaged
- Very many (over 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 February 28, 1969, a magnitude 8.0 MS earthquake generated a small tsunami. (reference #45)
Some boats in the port of Gijon, north Spain, broke their moorings (in the newspapers ABC, Madrid). At Mathosinhos (-8.70 W, 41.2 N) the fishermen that were offshore close to the coast felt a sudden and strong agitation in the sea, but they were unable to evaluate what happened in the coast. The maximum amplitude on tide gauges recorded at Casablanca is 90 cm. (reference #4139)
The reduced number of eyewitness reports is certainly due to the fact that the earthquake occurred during the night, at 02:40 (reference #8635)
The first-wave tsunami polarity at Casablanca is incoherent with what is observed in nearby stations. It was early interpreted by Gjevik et al. (1997) as the consequence of a local secondary landslide triggered by the earthquake. (reference #14223)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lagos | Portugal | 237 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | ||||
| Culatra | Portugal | 296 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | ||||
| Faro DE Olhao | Portugal | 296 | 0.2 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Cascais | Portugal | 327 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | ||||
| Pedroucos | Portugal | 334 | 0.7 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Cacilhas | Portugal | 336 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | ||||
| Terreiro do Paco | Portugal | 340 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | ||||
| Cabo Ruivo | Portugal | 345 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | ||||
| Casablanca | Morocco | 407 | 0.9 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 28, 03:26 | ||
| Chipiona | Spain | 413 | 0.48 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Sanlucar DE Barrameda | Spain | 418 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | ||||
| Cadiz | Spain | 422 | 0.15 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 28, 04:05 | ||
| Bonanza | Spain | 423 | 0.31 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Sevilla | Spain | 469 | 0.2 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Tarifa | Spain | 482 | 0.05 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Algeciras | Spain | 497 | 0.07 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 28, 03:35 | ||
| Gibraltar | UK Territories | 503 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | ||||
| Ceuta | Spain | 508 | 0.05 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 28, 03:45 | ||
| Aveiro | Portugal | 548 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | ||||
| Leixoes | Portugal | 606 | 0.45 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Arrecife, Lanzarote Island | Spain | 818 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | ||||
| La Coruna | Spain | 844 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 28, 05:00 | |||
| Gijon | Spain | 950 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Las Palmas, Gran Canaria | Spain | 969 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | ||||
| Puerto DE LA Luz, Gran Canaria | Spain | 970 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | ||||
| Santa Cruz, Tenerife, Canary Is | Spain | 973 | 0.08 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 28, 03:00 | ||
| Santa Cruz DE LA Palma | Spain | 1,036 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | ||||
| Angra do Heroismo, Terceira | Azores | 1,470 | 0.7 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| St. Marys, Scilly Islands, England | United Kingdom | 1,589 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | ||||
| Horta, Ilha DE Fayal, Azores | Azores | 1,590 | 0.76 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Newlyn, Cornwall, England | United Kingdom | 1,624 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | ||||
| Praca do Commercio | Portugal | 0.25 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) |
More
Every tsunami in 1969The 1900sTsunamis of PortugalThe 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 2012.