July 10, 1902 Tsunami: Martinique
A tsunami caused by a volcano began at Martinique on July 10, 1902 at 00:24 UTC. The water rose as high as 0.6 meters. 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
- July 10, 1902, 00:24 UTC
- Source
- Martinique
- Cause
- Volcano
- Volcano
- The eruption that caused it
- Maximum water height
- 0.6 m (2.0 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 2
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 14.553° N, 61.009° W
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.
5 waves observed with a 3m withdrawal at Baie de Genipa, Ducos. (reference #10134, from http://tsunamis.brgm.fr/)
Reference #13721:
[…] two tsunamis resulting from violent eruptions of Mount Pelée, Martinique, during the 1902–1905 eruption. They are described in detail in Lacroix (1904), one occurring on the 6th of June and the other on the 9th of July 1902. In both cases, they were generated by pyroclastic density currents (PDC) reaching the western coast and were recorded in Fort-de-France as 5-min period oscillations of the sea, with more than 1-m amplitude. It is important to highlight that Lacroix (p496-502, 1904), when reporting the 6 detailed descriptions of tsunamis associated with the 1902 eruption, indicates that all the proximal eruptive phases lead to sea movements, beginning by a sea retreat, followed by 5 to 6 undulations separated by ~ 5 min, and observed all over the western coast of Martinique down to Fort-de-France. Max water height (m): 0.6; Validity 4 (definite). July 9th 20h 20m (local time)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baie DE Genipa, Ducos | Martinique | 0 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Fort-De-France | Martinique | 10 | 0.6 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1902The 1900sTsunamis of MartiniqueThe eruptionThis 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 5697.