On May 22, 1960, a major tsunami struck southern Chile following a massive earthquake. According to the NOAA/NCEI Global Historical Tsunami Database, the event occurred at 19 hours, 11 minutes, and 17 seconds UTC, positioned at a latitude of -38.143 and a longitude of -73.407. The associated earthquake reached a magnitude of 9.5. The historical record assigns this event a validity rating of 4, indicating definite tsunami occurrence.
Measurements and Impacts
The tsunami generated extreme water heights along the affected coastline. The recorded maximum water height reached 25.0 meters. The event caused severe humanitarian and economic losses in the region, resulting in 2,226 deaths and approximately 3,000 injuries. Total financial damage associated with the disaster was estimated at 1,000.0 million USD.
Sources and further context
Official datasets support the event-specific facts.