October 18, 1897 Tsunami: Samar Island, Philippines
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 8.1 earthquake began at Samar Island, Philippines on October 18, 1897 at 23:48 UTC. 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
- October 18, 1897, 23:48 UTC
- Source
- Samar Island, Philippines
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 8.1, 33 km deep
- Runups recorded
- 2
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- 1.5
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Probable tsunami
- Source location
- 12.000° N, 126.000° E
The toll
- Deaths
- Few (about 1 to 50)
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million); Moderate (about $1 to $5 million) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Houses destroyed
- 17 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
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:
1897 October. The bibliography on tsunamis (Annotated bibliography..., 1964, No. 816) makes a reference to the following description. "A telegram from Manila on November 2nd, 1897, received at Victoria (Hong Kong) says that a tsunami fell on the coast of the Philippine Islands.
A strong wave crossed the San Juanico Strait. The water overflowed and damaged Tacloban. There were victims. Dams were destroyed at Granborengal. The source was apparently situated at open sea (Anon., 1897 a).
[One can assume that this tsunami was formed as the result of the earthquake of 19.X a 8:00 (Richter, 1963; 18.X, 23h48m; 12o N., 126o E.; M=8.1), which reached 9 degrees (X Rossi-Forel) on the eastern part of Samar Island. It caused considerable destruction at Sulat, Palapag, Catubig, Oras, Gandara, and
Laoang, and caused numerous cracks in the ground. Strong tremors were felt at Catbalogan, on Biliran Island, at Tacloban and moderate or strong oscillations were felt in the region of Albay Bay, at Sorsogon, Tabaco, Daet, Ginaiangan, Seber, and Iloilo. The area of the tremors, which included the southeast of Luzon Island, the Visayan Sea and the north of Mindanao Island, measured 800 x 600 km. Numerous recurrent shocks were registered including one 15 minutes after the main earthquake with a maximal intensity of 8 degrees (Maso, 1908 c, 1910 a; Repetti, 1946).
In other words, the earthquake had many of the usual signs of tsunamigenicity. There were no other strong earthquakes in the Tacloban region in 1897. However, Coronas (1899) directly states that the flooding at Tacloban was caused by the very strong hurricane of 12.X which fell on the Philippines.]
Tsunami on October 12, 1897 at Tacloban, Philippine Archipelago, with a meteorological or unknown source. (p. 394)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tacloban | Philippines | 137 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Granborengal | Philippines | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1897The 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 5456.