October 6, 2005 Tsunami: Lago DE Atitlan, Guatemala
A tsunami caused by a landslide began at Lago DE Atitlan, Guatemala on October 6, 2005 at 11:50 UTC. The water rose as high as 4 meters.
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
- October 6, 2005, 11:50 UTC
- Source
- Lago DE Atitlan, Guatemala
- Cause
- Landslide
- Maximum water height
- 4 m (13.1 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 0
- Waters
- A lake or river, not the ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 14.650° N, 91.240° W
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
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.
Reference #11947:
wave of about 4 m in height was observed in Lake Atitlan, caused by a landslide from the San Pedro volcano during heavy rain from Hurricane Stan
Reference #14090:
Due to the excess rainfall that occurred during Hurricane Stan, a landslide occurred near the highest part of the San Pedro Volcano that descended the ravine towards the bay, producing with its impact on the lake, four moderate waves that travelled for 15 to 20 minutes to the other side of the lake and heights between 3 and 4 meters.
The first wave that impacted the water of the lake is estimated to be between 6 and 7 meters high, followed by three waves that varied in height between 3 and 4 meters.
According to eyewitness accounts the waves took only 7 to 8 minutes to cross the lake,
Waves of approximately 0.5 meters could be seen up to two hours after the event.
There was no loss of life and only some material damage, such including crops and boats. The two docks of the main pier of Santiago Atitlan and the smaller one of the Hotel Posada de Santiago were impacted, which were almost one meter under water for three hours.
Note: the 6-7 meters wave description is interpreted to be the initial “splash” from the landslide entering the water
More
Every tsunami in 2005The 2000sTsunamis of GuatemalaThis 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 6035.