January 1, 1980 Tsunami: Azores, Portugal

Name: January 1, 1980 Tsunami: Azores, Portugal
Start: 1980-01-01
Location: Azores, Portugal

January 1, 1980 · 0.41 m · 69 deaths · $5 million · 15,000 houses destroyed · Definite tsunami

A tsunami caused by a magnitude 6.9 earthquake began at Azores, Portugal on January 1, 1980 at 16:42:42 UTC. The water rose as high as 0.41 meters. Its effects were recorded at 2 places. It killed 69 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: January 1, 1980, 16:42:42 UTC
Source: Azores, Portugal
Cause: Earthquake
Earthquake: Magnitude 6.9, 13 km deep
Maximum water height: 0.41 m (1.3 ft)
Runups recorded: 2
Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura): 1
Waters: Ocean
How certain: Definite tsunami
Source location: 38.727° N, 27.750° W

The toll

Deaths: 69 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
Injuries: 600 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
Damage: $5 million with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
Houses destroyed: 15,000 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.

Earthquake occurred between the Islands of Terceira and S.Jorge (Açores). The focal mechanism, determined by several authors, is a pure strike-slip mechanism. The only tide record available is the one of Angra do Heroismo (Terceira). Tsunami intensity 1. (reference #4139)

The only tide record available is the one of Angra do Heroismo (Terceira)[...]On the Angra tide gauge a tsunami lasting for about 01h40 m was recorded. The tide gauge registered a total of 18 waves that arrived in two sets, the first with an average double amplitude of 28 cm (maximum of 41 cm in the 5th wave) and the latter averaging 10.2 cm. Baptista (1998) estimated an average amplitude of 30 cm at Angra (Terceira Island). No accounts of damage have been reported (Andrade et al., 2006). (reference #11164)

On the 1st of January 1980, a tsunami lasting for about O1h40 m was recorded at the tide gauge of Angra (Terceira Island) and is associated with a local, strikeslip earthquake (Rita 1992; Baptista 1998). The tide gauge registered a total of 18 waves that arrived in two sets, the first with an average double amplitude of 28 cm (maximum of 41 cm in the 5th wave) and the latter averaging 10.2 cm, Baptista (1998) estimated an average amplitude of 30 cm at Angra (Terceira Island). Once more, no accounts of damage have been repotted, and it is doubtful that any documentary record existed in the absence of tide gauges, given that this disturbance was apparently unnoticed by inhabitants. (reference #5046)

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
Angra do Heroismo, Terceira	Azores	46	0.41		Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)	day 1, 16:50
Horta, Ilha DE Fayal, Azores	Azores	80	0.28		Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)

Every tsunami in 1980 The 1900s Tsunamis of Portugal The earthquake This day in weather history Alerts 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 4259.