Tsunamis in 1976

February 4, 1976 Tsunami: Guatemala

February 4, 1976 · 0.12 m · 23,000 deaths · $2.1 billion · 255,000 houses destroyed · Definite tsunami

A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake began at Guatemala on February 4, 1976 at 09:01:43 UTC. The water rose as high as 0.12 meters. Its effects were recorded at 1 place. It killed 23,000 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

Tsunami warnings in force

The tsunami

Date
February 4, 1976, 09:01:43 UTC
Source
Guatemala
Cause
Earthquake
Maximum water height
0.12 m (0.4 ft)
Runups recorded
1
Tsunami magnitude (Iida)
-0.5
Waters
Ocean
How certain
Definite tsunami
Source location
15.324° N, 89.101° W

The toll

Deaths
23,000 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
Injuries
76,000 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
Damage
$2.1 billion with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
Houses destroyed
255,000 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.

The disastrous Guatemalan earthquake of February 4, 1976, as reported in our March Newsletter [paragraph below], generated a small tsunami that was recorded at the Puerto Cortez tidal station located on the northeast coast of Honduras. The maximum crest to trough amplitude recorded at this station was 0.7 feet, or 24 centimeters. The arrival of the first wave occurred at approximately 0912Z indicating a travel time of only 10 minutes. (reference #4171. p. 9-10)

The disastrous 7.5 earthquake that rocked Guatemala City, Guatemala, during the early morning hours of February 4, and left thousands dead or injured, did not generate a tsunami, either locally or Pacific wide. Negative wave reports were received by Honolulu Observatory from both Baltra Island, Ecuador, and Acajutla, El Salvador, which were queried after the earthquake. (from reference #2545, p. 14-15)

Reference #1492, #8015, #1540, #273, list the Puerto Cortes tide gauge with a maximum amplitude of 45 cm.

Every runup

Nearest the source first. Heights are above sea level at the time; a tide gauge reads half the wave’s full height.

WhereCountryKm from sourceWater height, mInland, mMeasured byFirst wave, UTCDeaths
Puerto CortesHonduras1390.12Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)day 4, 09:12

Photos

From the NCEI/WDS Natural Hazards Image Database (doi:10.7289/V5154F01). Only photos by the USGS and NOAA, which are public domain, are shown.

Offset of Trees along Fault, Motagua, Guatemala
Offset of Trees along Fault, Motagua, Guatemala View southward along a row of trees offset about 3.25 m by strike-slip motion along the Motagua fault in Guatemala. The amount of offset is indicated by the distance between the row of trees on the right and the stake at which the man points. The stake is aligned with the row of trees in the background. Photo: U.S. Geological Survey.
Twisted Railroad Tracks across Fault, Guatemala
Twisted Railroad Tracks across Fault, Guatemala The view is looking north along railroad tracks that were twisted and offset 1.07 m by the Motagua fault, which is perpendicular to the tracks. This is one of numerous localities at which the main railroad line between the coastal port of Puerto Barrios and Guatemala City was disrupted by the faulting. Photo: U.S. Geological Survey.
Landslide near Guatemala City, Guatemala
Landslide near Guatemala City, Guatemala Landslides occurred in the steep roadcut of stratified pumice and ash deposits at the San Cristobal subdivision west of Guatemala City. The materials exposed in this roadcut are typical of much of the Pleistocene tephra deposits that underlie inhabited parts of the Guatemalan highlands. Photo: U.S. Geological Survey.
Liquefaction, Motagua Valley, Guatemala
Liquefaction, Motagua Valley, Guatemala Sand mounds deposited by spouting from the row of crater-like vents in the lower Motagua Valley, Guatemala. Increased pressure due to the earthquake forced the liquefied sands to the surface. Photo: U.S. Geological Survey.
Offset of cement-lined ditch in Guatemala
Offset of cement-lined ditch in Guatemala Offset of a cement-lined ditch by the left-lateral strike-slip Motagua fault resulting from the earthquake of February 4, 1976, in Guatemala. The Motagua fault is part of the transform fault system between the North American and Caribbean plates and comprises the northern boundary of the Caribbean plate. The North American plate is moving 2.2 cm per year… Photo: U.S. Geological Survey.
Deformation of rows by 1976 earthquake
Deformation of rows by 1976 earthquake Rows in the cultivated field west of El Progresso, Guatemala, deformed by the earthquake of February 4, 1976. The thick, saturated, unconsolidated deposits have yielded by plastic deformation rather than rupture along the left-lateral strike-slip fault. This quake resulted in the deaths of 23,000 people and $1.1 billion dollars in property damage. Photo: U.S. Geological Survey.
Tree bisected by fault in Guatemala
Tree bisected by fault in Guatemala This tree was killed by movement along a strike-slip fault through its center, during the same Guatemala earthquake. This was the largest strike-slip event in North America since 1906. Photo: U.S. Geological Survey.

More

Every tsunami in 1976The 1900sTsunamis of GuatemalaThe 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 2085.