May 8, 1911 Tsunami: Blanche Bay, Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
A tsunami caused by an earthquake began at Blanche Bay, Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea on May 8, 1911. 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
The tsunami
- Date
- May 8, 1911
- Source
- Blanche Bay, Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- The earthquake
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- 0
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Questionable tsunami
- Source location
- 4.250° S, 152.250° 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.
Reference #414:
1911, May 8, validity 2. There was a strong earthquake on the coast of Blanche Bay and on Matupi Island. There was a large number of separate shocks in the following hours. There was a tsunami (Sieberg, 1932; Iida et al., 1967).
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matupi Island, New Britain | Papua New Guinea | 7 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1911The 1900sTsunamis of Papua New GuineaThe 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 1393.