Tsunamis in 1912

December 6, 1912 Tsunami: Yap Islands, Caroline Islands, Micronesia

December 6, 1912 · Very doubtful tsunami

A tsunami caused by an earthquake began at Yap Islands, Caroline Islands, Micronesia on December 6, 1912. 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
December 6, 1912
Source
Yap Islands, Caroline Islands, Micronesia
Cause
Earthquake
Earthquake
The earthquake
Runups recorded
1
Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
0.5
Waters
Ocean
How certain
Very doubtful tsunami

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 #236:

1912, December 6. An earthquake (similar to that of 1912, October 31) was felt and heard in the Yap Islands at about 3:11 P.M. Immediately after the earthquake a wave was

seen at sea. The quake was not reported by seismological stations in the area. (Soloviev and Go, 1974, p. 192)

Reference #414:

1912, December 6, 15:11 [local time]. Validity questionable. Magnitude 7. On Yap Island, there were undulating tremors of an intensity of 3 degrees (R-F), lasting 4 seconds; they were accompanied by an underground rumble. Two weak recurrent shocks were felt at night. Immediately after the earthquake, a wave was observed at sea (Maso, 1912b). [The earthquake was apparently not registered by the East-Asian seismic stations: Manila and others.]

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
Yap Island, Caroline IslandsMicronesiaEyewitness observation of water height

More

Every tsunami in 1912The 1900sTsunamis of MicronesiaThe 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 1404.