Tsunamis in Colombia

In a total of 4 tidal waves classified as a tsunami since 1906 a total of 645 people died in Colombia. Tsunamis therefore occur only rarely here.

The strongest tidal wave registered in Colombia so far reached a height of 8 meters. At this Tsunami on 07/19/2017 no losses of human lifes have been registered.

The biggest impact in terms of lifes, injuries, destroyed homes and economy had been a tsunami on 12/12/1979. A tidal wave of up to 6 meters killed 36 humans and destroyed vast areas.

Other natural hazards in Colombia:
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Tsunamis are caused by earthquakes or other seismic eruptions on ground of an oceans and can cause massive tidal waves, which run with enormous force on land, causing great devastation. Especially in regions with only few tsunamis, the damage is often drastic, as the population does not expect tsunamis and thus hardly takes any protective measures. Even relatively small flood waves can lead to high losses and financial damage.

The marked positions on the map represent the most effected regions within the past 120 years.

The largest tsunamis in Colombia since 1906

Date	Cause	max. tidal wave	Fatalities
07/19/2017	Landslide in Colombia (Off The Coast Near Santa Marta)	8 m	0
12/12/1979	Earthquake in Colombia (Colombia: Off Shore, Pacific Ocean) with a magnitude of 7.7.	6 m	36
01/19/1958	Earthquake in Ecuador (Colombia-Ecuador) with a magnitude of 7.6.	0 m	0
01/31/1906	Earthquake in Ecuador (Off Coast) with a magnitude of 8.8. The tsunami also reached Ecuador, United States. A total of 1,000 humans died.	5 m	609

These statistics are based on datas from the National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): Global Historical Tsunami Database. Global Historical Tsunami Database. Several data have been summarized and translated.

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