October 19, 1865 Tsunami: Philippines
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 6 earthquake began at Philippines on October 19, 1865. Its effects were recorded at 1 place.
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
- October 19, 1865
- Source
- Philippines
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 6
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- 0
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Questionable tsunami
- Source location
- 13.250° N, 123.500° E
The toll
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 223
- Houses damaged
- Some (about 51 to 100)
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:
1865, October 19 (13), 22:00 [local time], 13.25 N, 123.5 E, magnitude 6. There was a considerable earthquake in the provinces of Albay and Camarines... During the earthquake, the sea was also extremely rough [in the Tabaco region?]. The residents had never seen such flood tides (Perrey, 1867; Repetti, 1946).
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tabaco | Philippines | 28 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1865The 1800sTsunamis of PhilippinesThe earthquakeThis 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 942.