February 13, 1938 Earthquake: Fakfak, New Guinea, Indonesia

Name: February 13, 1938 Earthquake: Fakfak, New Guinea, Indonesia
Start: 1938-02-13
Location: Fakfak, New Guinea, Indonesia

February 13, 1938

An earthquake struck Fakfak, New Guinea, Indonesia on February 13, 1938. 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 13, 1938
Place: Fakfak, New Guinea, Indonesia
Tsunami: Yes: the tsunami it caused
Epicenter: 3.000° S, 132.300° E
Country: Indonesia

The toll

Damage: Limited (under about $1 million)

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.

February 13, 1938, 3:35 [local time]. There was an earthquake on Pandjang Island at Fakfak. Rocks collapsed; the motor stopped at the lighthouse, and the cowl fell off the lamp; stucco cracked a bit in homes. Between 4:00 and 8:00, the lighthouse keeper observed tidal waves about 1/2 m high. (reference #414)

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

Significant earthquakes of 1938 The 1900s Every quake the USGS located in 1938 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 6643.