Tsunamis in 1907

January 14, 1907 Tsunami: Jamaica

January 14, 1907 · 2.5 m · 1,000 deaths · $30 million · Definite tsunami

A tsunami caused by a magnitude 6.2 earthquake began at Jamaica on January 14, 1907 at 20:38:12 UTC. The water rose as high as 2.5 meters. Its effects were recorded at 12 places. It killed 1,000 people, counting the earthquake or eruption that caused it.

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

Travel times

How long the first wave took to reach each part of the ocean, one line for each hour up to 24, estimated from the source and the depth of the sea.

The travel times are computed in your browser, which needs JavaScript.

  • 1 to 4 hours
  • 5 to 6 hours
  • 7 to 14 hours
  • 15 hours and more

Computed in your browser the way NOAA’s own travel time maps are: the wave travels at the square root of gravity times the depth, over NOAA’s ETOPO1 depths averaged to a 10 arc-minute grid. Checked against NOAA NCEI’s maps for 21 tsunamis over the first 24 hours, these lines fall within 10 minutes of NCEI’s at half the points compared and within 52 minutes at 9 in 10. They give when the first wave could arrive, not how high it is; bays, harbors and island chains finer than the grid can see it later. Not for use in a warning: see tsunami.gov.

The tsunami

Date
January 14, 1907, 20:38:12 UTC
Source
Jamaica
Cause
Earthquake
Maximum water height
2.5 m (8.2 ft)
Runups recorded
12
Tsunami magnitude (Iida)
1.3
Waters
Ocean
How certain
Definite tsunami
Source location
18.667° N, 76.237° W

The toll

Deaths
1,000 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
Damage
Moderate (about $1 to $5 million); $30 million with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
Houses destroyed
Many (101 to 1,000) 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.

A large tsunami hit the northern coast with waves as high as 2.5 meters. Waves of lesser significance were reported along the southern coast of Jamaica.

Reference #13864: "On the north of the island, a " tidal wave " of considerable magnitude was observed at Hope bay, Orange bay, Buff bay, Annotta bay, Sheerness bay, Ocho Rios, and St Anne's bay (that at Port Antonio was quite small), this phenomenon commencing near Buff bay on the east extending far to the westward. It may have been produced by sandslides from the edge of the submarine land shelf shown on the map, which is close inshore all along this coast, and outside which lies water of great depth. The "tidal wave" consisted of a recession of water from the shore, followed by its return in waves. At Port Maria this is reported to have occurred a few minutes before the earthquake […] The eastern boundaries of considerable disturbance at sea are joined by a line running from Hope bay on the north coast to Yallah's point on the south, and the western boundaries from St. Anne's bay on the north to Fort Clarence, where a "tidal wave" was observed, on the south.

Every runup

Nearest the source first. Heights are above sea level at the time; a tide gauge reads half the wave’s full height.

WhereCountryKm from sourceWater height, mInland, mMeasured byFirst wave, UTCDeaths
Port AntonioJamaica602.5Eyewitness observation of water height
Hope BayJamaica622.5Eyewitness observation of water height
Buff BayJamaica662.5Eyewitness observation of water height
Annotto BayJamaica712.29Eyewitness observation of water height
Sheerness BayJamaica712.5Eyewitness observation of water height
Port MariaJamaica772.4Eyewitness observation of water height
Yallahs PointJamaica95Eyewitness observation of water height
Ocho RiosJamaica962.5Eyewitness observation of water height
Kingston HarborJamaica982.5Eyewitness observation of water height
Saint Ann'S BayJamaica1052.5Eyewitness observation of water height
Fort ClarenceJamaica109Eyewitness observation of water height
Orange BayJamaica2222.5Eyewitness observation of water height

More

Every tsunami in 1907The 1900sTsunamis of JamaicaThe 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 1350.