The port of Chimbote had been closed for the five days preceding the
tsunami due to high wind wave conditions. The normal tide variation for
Chimbote is approximately 1m. The gauge shows the arrival of the wave
shortly after 9:00 a.m. local time on February 21. The corrected maximum
runup data was recorded at 2.8 m.
At the Port of Chimbote the tsunami was affected by the topography of Chimbote's Bay, so that it inundated the landward 800 m of the main dock leaving the seaward 200 m dry, overturning a truck and transporting a steel guard shack for a distance of 20 m. Altough the tsunami innundated the beach in the bay of Chimbote, it did not affect structures along the beach.