January 16, 1905 Tsunami: Loen, Norway
A tsunami caused by a landslide began at Loen, Norway on January 16, 1905. The water rose as high as 40.5 meters. Its effects were recorded at 4 places. It killed 61 people.
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
- January 16, 1905
- Source
- Loen, Norway
- Cause
- Landslide
- Maximum water height
- 40.5 m (132.9 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 4
- Waters
- A lake or river, not the ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 61.866° N, 6.850° E
The toll
- Deaths
- 61
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 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.
A large rock slide occurred at Ramnefjell in Loen around midnight (local time) between January 15th and the 16th. The slide generated waves with maximum height 40.5 m above the lake level on the headland, Nesodden in front of Ramnefjell. At Badal north of Nesodden the wave reached a height of 14.5 m and killed 27 persons and destroyed completely all the farmhouses in the range of the wave. At Nesdal south of Ramnefjell on the same side of the lake as the slide, the wave reached a height of 15.5 m and killed all the 34 inhabitants living in Outer Nasdel. A rockslide of about 50,000 m3 in volume fell down from about 450 m altitude above the lake from the steep mountainside and released approximately 300,000 m3 of moraine masses covered by rock debris. This slide generated waves which overflooded and destroyed several farms located around the lake. (reference #3962)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outlet of Lake Loen | Norway | 0 | 5.8 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Nesdal | Norway | 5 | 15.5 | Eyewitness observation of water height | 34 | ||
| Bodal | Norway | 5 | 14.5 | Eyewitness observation of water height | 27 | ||
| Nesodden | Norway | 40.5 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1905The 1900sTsunamis of NorwayThis 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 3542.