September 17, 1900 Tsunami: Rabaul Harbor, Papua New Guinea

Name: September 17, 1900 Tsunami: Rabaul Harbor, Papua New Guinea
Start: 1900-09-17
Location: Rabaul Harbor, Papua New Guinea

September 17, 1900 · 3 m · Probable tsunami

A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7.1 earthquake began at Rabaul Harbor, Papua New Guinea on September 17, 1900 at 21:45 UTC. The water rose as high as 3 meters. 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

Tsunami warnings in force

The tsunami

Date: September 17, 1900, 21:45 UTC
Source: Rabaul Harbor, Papua New Guinea
Cause: Earthquake
Earthquake: Magnitude 7.1
Maximum water height: 3 m (9.8 ft)
Runups recorded: 1
Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura): 1.5
Waters: Ocean
How certain: Probable tsunami
Source location: 5.000° S, 148.000° E

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.

Note: Ref#99 says the events reported on 17 Sept actually refer to the event on 10 Sept. Ref#414 says that the report on 10 Sept event actually refers to the 17 Sept event. Thus, there may have only been one earthquake and tsunami either on Sept 10 or (more likely) on Sept 17.

Reference #414:

1900, September 18, after 8:00 [local time], validity 3. At Rabaul, there was a strong earthquake lasting 40 seconds. The water began to oscillate in Rabaul Harbour. This continued until 10:30 [local time]. According to the captain of a ship riding in the bay, the depth of the water decreased from 12 m (40 feet) to 6 m (19 feet) when the level fell.

Reference #414 also lists a report for September 11, 1900, that probably refers to the event on September 18, 1900. There was a heavy earthquake somewhere, with serious destruction of structures on the Gazelle Peninsula. There were slumps along the shores of Blanche Bay. There was a tsunami.

1900, September 17, 21:45:0 UTC. 5 South, 148 East, 7.1 MW. (reference #9910)

Reference #99:

1900 Sep. 11 "[...]a severe earthquake was felt, lasting for fully a minute[...]The water receded out of the bay after the first shock, leaving boats on dry land. The native rushed out for fish, myriad of which were lying high and dry, but their luck was short-lived, as a tidal wave rolled in. Luckily for them the wave was not of great force or volume. After the first shock the leadover the stern showed the three-fathom mark awash, but the water came gradually back, and half an hour after six fathoms was obtained." The report stated that the event occurred on Sep. 18 but the description of weather and time of occurence suggest that the date given is one week in error - Author.

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
Rabaul (Blanche Bay), New Britain	Papua New Guinea	472	3		Eyewitness observation of water height

Every tsunami in 1900 The 1900s Tsunamis of Papua New Guinea The earthquake This day in weather history Alerts 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 1274.