January 1, 1889 Tsunami: Hawaii, United States
A tsunami of unknown cause began at Hawaii, United States on January 1, 1889.
Where the waves reached
The source of the tsunami. No runup with a place is recorded for it.
- 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
- January 1, 1889
- Source
- Hawaii, United States
- Cause
- Unknown
- Runups recorded
- 0
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Very doubtful tsunami
The toll
The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this tsunami.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
On Sunday last there was a very heavy tidal wave at Koolau, the other side of this island, which washed thousands of fish ashore. A native boy on horseback was carried out to sea some distance and brought back on a huge wave without sustaining any injury whatever.
More
Every tsunami in 1889The 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 5635.