February 10, 1903 Earthquake: Guam, US Territories

Name: February 10, 1903 Earthquake: Guam, US Territories
Start: 1903-02-10
Location: Guam, US Territories

February 10, 1903

An earthquake struck Guam, US Territories on February 10, 1903 at 02:28 UTC. It caused a tsunami.

Map

Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.

The earthquake

Date: February 10, 1903
Time: 02:28 UTC
Place: Guam, US Territories
Intensity: 7 on the Modified Mercalli scale
Tsunami: Yes: the tsunami it caused
Epicenter: 14.000° N, 143.300° E
Country: US Territories

The toll

Damage: Limited (under about $1 million)
Houses damaged: Few (about 1 to 50)

Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.

What the record says

NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.

Reference #414:

1903, beginning of February. There was a series of underground shocks on Guam Island. The level [of the sea?] rose 15 cm (6 inches).

Reference #2519:

1903, February 10, 12:39 p.m. Two shocks, the first light and the second heavy lasting in all about one minute, fifteen seconds. Damaged the walls of the governor's mansion. The first part was a rapid vibration, N and S, and the latter part a comparatively slow oscillation E to W.

Reference #1072:

1903, February 10, 12:39 p.m. Intensity VII. Guam. Violent earthquake which damaged to some extent the government house at Agana. Two distinct series of shocks were observed, having a total duration of more than a minute.

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

Significant earthquakes of 1903 The 1900s Every quake the USGS located in 1903 Recent earthquakes near here This day in weather history

Sources

Significant earthquakes 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 earthquake 7101.