March 14, 1913 Earthquake: Sangihe Island, Indonesia

Reference #414:1913 (mistakenly 1914), Mar 14, 16:45 [local time]. There was an earthquake sourced near Sangihe Is. A number of studies... mention it was accompanied by tsunami waves. This is mistaken. In fact, flooding of a different nature was taken for a tsunami. The original accounts mention the following.

The earthquake was felt most strongly on the southeast of Sangihe I. It lasted 4 + 2 min and was accompanied by a loud rumble. At Menalu, situated on swampy ground, piles of homes were ripped out of the ground and homes sank to one side or collapsed altogether. People were thrown to the ground. Various structures collapsed at Enemawira, Peta and Tabukan.

At Tamako, the school and some homes and shops were destroyed. The same occurred at Manganitu, but there was no serious destruction at Kandhar. 20 people died. Numerous collapses and rock falls occurred along the entire rocky coast of the island, including the Kandhar region. In Menalu Bay, a chunk 1000 m3 in volume collapsed into the water from a height of 80 m. To the west of Menalu, a mud flow, which traveled 1 km along the plain, came down from the 80m Endongo hill. 29 homes with 117 residents were buried under a mass of earth 1000m long, 700m wide and 6m thick. The loose soil covers on the island were dissected by numerous cracks; water gushed forth from some of them; some areas of the ground subsided. In particular, the Menalu plain subsided; some areas of beach disappeared; here and there the sea wedged into the land in narrow winding branches. As a result of the subsidence of the ground, ground water came to the surface. All this led to the swamping of the plain and the residents of Menalu were obliged to move elsewhere. In Peta Bay, a strip of the south shore 200m long subsided 2m; the top of the bay was also swamped. The coast at Tamako subsided by 1/2m, and an area of coast 180m long subsided 1m at Tabukan. The relief of the sea bottom apparently was unchanged, as all the anchorages continued to function.

The Endongo mud flow backed up a small river. It overflowed.

After the earthquake, pouring rain began. The water breached the blockage and flooded the underlying locality. The river at Manganitu overflowed catastrophically, washing out all the bridges.

The earthquake was less strong on the small islands between the islands of Sulawesi and Mindanao. Nevertheless, on Siau I, people couldn't remain standing; at many places the ground cracked, avalanches and rockfalls occurred, various brick structures were damaged and some huts sank to one side; one person died and several were injured. There were no reports on the subsidence of sections of the coast.

On the Talaud I as well, cracks appeared in the ground and water issued from them; public buildings (the kirk, the school, etc.) cracked substantially, there were no victims. One local captain stated that at the same time as the roar, he saw a large elevation form at sea several km to the west of the island.

The earthquake lasted 1/2 min on the Sarangani Islands, south of Mindanao I; pillars and large trees fell. At Davao, very strong oscillations lasted, according to different estimates, from 2 to 5 min. The cracks which formed in the ground ejected water and sand. People were thrown to the ground. Several stone walls collapsed. Huts made of palm leaves sank to one side.

Strong tremors, with almost no damage, were recorded at Baganga, Talakogon, Kotabato, and Butuan [Philippines]. The water in the Agusan River began to move markedly in an east-west direction; boats rocked strongly. Seamen in boats, sailing near Surigao, felt the earthquake; waves appeared on the surface of the water

Reference #1187:1913 Intensity IX.

Reference #9910:

7.9 Ms AN1, 7.7 mB ABE1.

Reference #10467:1913-03-14 08:45:04.31, 5.354N, 126.121E, 15km depth, 7.77Mw.