Arica is presently located within Chile but the city was originally a part of Peru from the country’s inception until the later part of the 19th century when the War of the Pacific broke out. At the time of the 1868 tsunami, Arica still belonged to Peru. On August 16, a magnitude 8.5 earthquake stuck the area of the Peru-Chile Trench located just off Peru’s extreme southern coast.
The large earthquake reduced the port of Arica to rubble and generated a huge trans-pacific tsunami that struck Arica shortly after the earthquake ended. Several minutes after the quake, the first tsunami wave arrived at Arica as a rapid rise of water, followed by a fierce withdrawal. The second wave estimated 90 feet and its advance dashed Fredonia to pieces on the rocks of a harbor island, killing all but two crew members. The tsunami was disastrous for the port of Arica where an estimated 25,000 people died as a result. The waves literally swept the low-lying parts of the town clean, removing all traces, including the foundations, of the structures.
In total, the 1868 tsunami caused an estimated 300 million dollars in damage, and killed as many as 70,000 people along the South American coast. Other Peruvian cities damaged by the tsunami killed over 600 additional people. Hawaii was hit particularly hard with the sunup reaching 4.5 meters at Hilo causing severe damage to the waterfront. It even flooded the harbor of Yokohama in Japan.
