May 26, 1914 Earthquake: Japen, Irian Jaya, New Guinea, Indonesia

Name: May 26, 1914 Earthquake: Japen, Irian Jaya, New Guinea, Indonesia
Start: 1914-05-26
Location: Japen, Irian Jaya, New Guinea, Indonesia

May 26, 1914 · M8.1 · Deaths: many

A magnitude 8.1 earthquake struck Japen, Irian Jaya, New Guinea, Indonesia on May 26, 1914 at 14:22:47 UTC, 15 km below the surface. 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: May 26, 1914
Time: 14:22:47 UTC
Place: Japen, Irian Jaya, New Guinea, Indonesia
Magnitude: 8.1 (Mw)
Focal depth: 15 km (9 mi)
Intensity: 9 on the Modified Mercalli scale
Tsunami: Yes: the tsunami it caused
Epicenter: 1.829° S, 136.943° E
Country: Indonesia

The toll

Deaths: Many (about 101 to 1,000)
Damage: Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
Houses destroyed: Many (101 to 1,000)

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:

1914, May 26, 14:22.7 UTC. 2S, 137 E, magnitude 7.9.

There was an earthquake with source in the region of Irian Bay. All brick buildings collapsed on Japen Island, Ansus and Pom suffered from a tidal wave. There were many victims, and many aftershocks were registered. Strong horizontal tremors were felt at Ende. The first of them was very prolonged and strong; a roar like peals of thunder or cannon shots was heard. At that same time, three large sea waves were observed. Arising at ebb tide, they reached the flood tide line. Weak undulating tremors were felt at Bandaneira. The tsunami was registered by the tide gauge at Honolulu.

Reference #1188:

1914, May 26, 14:22.7 UTC. 2 S 137 E, magnitude 7.9. Irian Jaya, Japen island - all brick buildings collapsed on Japen Island. Ansus and Pom were affected by a tsunami. A few people lost their lives.

Reference #9910:

1914, May 26, 14:22:42 UTC, 2 S, 137 E, 7.9 Mw P&S, 8 Ms AN1, 7.3 mB ABE1, 7.9 UK G&R, 7.9 UK PAS.

Reference #10476:

1914, May 26, 14:22:47.68 UTC. 1.829 S, 136.943 E depth 15 km, 8.1 MW.

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

Significant earthquakes of 1914 The 1900s Every quake the USGS located in 1914 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 3005.