Tsunamis in 2020

November 14, 2020 Tsunami: Valle Gran Rey, LA Gomera Island, Spain

November 14, 2020 · 0.5 m · Definite tsunami

A tsunami caused by a landslide began at Valle Gran Rey, LA Gomera Island, Spain on November 14, 2020 at 15:00:00 UTC. The water rose as high as 0.5 meters. Its effects were recorded at 1 place.

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
November 14, 2020, 15:00:00 UTC
Source
Valle Gran Rey, LA Gomera Island, Spain
Cause
Landslide
Maximum water height
0.5 m (1.6 ft)
Runups recorded
1
Waters
Ocean
How certain
Definite tsunami
Source location
28.080° N, 17.325° W

The toll

The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this tsunami.

What the record says

NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.

A local tsunami was triggered about 15:00 h on 14 November 2020 in Valle Gran Rey (La Gomera Island) due to a littoral massive rock fall (Figures 1 and 2, Table 1). Videos recording the rock fall posted in the social media allow to observe a tsunami wave propagating radially from the rock fall deposit. The wave, bigger that 0.5 m near the coast, reached the village of Argaga, more than 200 m far away, circa 21 s after the rock fall entering the sea. Sailing tourists reported a small wave that slightly shook the boats anchored less than 400 m far from the coast. This small tsunami did not cause damages.

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
Argaga, LA Gomera IslandSpain0Eyewitness observation of water height

More

Every tsunami in 2020The 2000sTsunamis of SpainThis 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 5785.