January 29, 1920 Earthquake: N. Moluccas Islands, Indonesia
An earthquake struck N. Moluccas Islands, Indonesia on January 29, 1920. 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
- January 29, 1920
- Place
- N. Moluccas Islands, Indonesia
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 0.870° N, 122.920° E
- Country
- Indonesia
- Region
- Central and South Pacific
The toll
The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this earthquake.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Reference #414:
On January 29 [22:00 local time] 1920, there was an earthquake at Kuandang and Manado. There was a tidal wave in the region of Corontalo.
On January 30 [23:00 local time], 1920, at Donggala (Sulawesi Island), during an earthquake, the lighthouse inspector noted a tidal wave, which came from the east. It lasted 2 minutes and had a height of 2 m.
These two reports are probably describing the same event.
Sources NCEI cites
The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.
- #414 Soloviev, S.L., and Ch.N. Go (1974). A catalogue of tsunamis on the western shore of the Pacific Ocean [dates include 173-1968. Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Nauka Publishing House, Moscow, 439 p. [Canadian Translation of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences no. 5077, 1984, translation available from Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information, National Research Council, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A OS2, 447 p.]
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- November 16, 2008, Minahassa Peninsula, Indonesia
- April 18, 1990, Bolaang-Gorontalo, Minahassa Peninsula, Indonesia
- January 22, 1905, Minahassa Peninsula, Indonesia
- June 20, 1991, Gorontalo, Mamado, Minahassa, Indonesia
- August 25, 1871, Gorontalo, Indonesia
- November 25, 1997, Minahassa Peninsula,gorontalo, Sulawesi, Indonesia
- December 21, 1939, Kalo,luwuk,sula I, Centrtal Sulawesi, Indonesia
- May 28, 1942, Minahassa Peninsula, Indonesia
- September 11, 1930, Amurang Island, Indonesia
More
Significant earthquakes of 1920The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1920Recent earthquakes near hereThis 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 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 6581.