September 3, 1821 Tsunami: Assateague Island, VA, United States
A tsunami of meteorological origin began at Assateague Island, VA, United States on September 3, 1821. Its effects were recorded at 2 places.
Where the waves reached
The source (white) and every runup with a place, colored by the water height recorded there. A ring is a runup NCEI marks doubtful.
- Under 1 m
- 1 to 3 m
- 3 to 10 m
- 10 to 30 m
- 30 m and more
- Height not recorded
The tsunami
- Date
- September 3, 1821
- Source
- Assateague Island, VA, United States
- Cause
- Meteorological
- Runups recorded
- 2
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Very doubtful tsunami
- Source location
- 38.083° N, 75.208° W
The toll
- Injuries
- 1
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.
A Category 4 hurricane moved over the North Carolina Outer Banks, over the Delmarva Peninsula, and into Cape May County, New Jersey. Along the barrier island of Assateague, sandbars were exposed from the recession of the Atlantic Ocean. Pyle (Reference #1736) stated that suddenly in the morning, "a monstrous wall of inky waters rushed with the speed of lightning toward the island. It struck Assateague, and in a moment half the land was a waste of seething foam and tossing pine trunks; the next instant it struck Chincoteague, and in an unbroken mass swept across the low south marsh flats, carrying away men and ponies like insects; rushing up the island, tearing its way through the stricken pine woods." Lockridge et. al (Reference #541) suggested that this water behavior is not typical for a hurricane, and may have been an off-shore landslide that in turn generated a tsunami.
Every runup
Nearest the source first. Heights are above sea level at the time; a tide gauge reads half the wave’s full height.
| Where | Country | Km from source | Water height, m | Inland, m | Measured by | First wave, UTC | Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assateague, VA, VA | United States | 15 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Chincoteague, VA, VA | United States | 23 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1821The 1800sTsunamis of United StatesThis day in weather historyAlerts in force
Sources
Tsunami events and runups 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 tsunami event 2447.