March 14, 1913 Tsunami: Sangihe Island, Indonesia
A tsunami caused by a volcano and a magnitude 7.8 earthquake began at Sangihe Island, Indonesia on March 14, 1913 at 08:45:04 UTC. Its effects were recorded at 1 place. It killed 138 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
The tsunami
- Date
- March 14, 1913, 08:45:04 UTC
- Source
- Sangihe Island, Indonesia
- Cause
- Volcano and earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 7.8, 15 km deep
- Volcano
- The eruption that caused it
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Erroneous entry
- Source location
- 5.354° N, 126.121° E
The toll
- Deaths
- 138 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 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.
Reference #414:
1913 (mistakenly 1914), March 14 , 16:45 [local time]. There was a very strong earthquake with source near Sangihe Island. A number of studies (Visser, 1921 a; Sieberg, 1932; Severit, 1933; Heck 1947; Ponyavin, 1965; Iida et a1, 1967; Berninghausen, 1969) mention that the earthquake was accompanied by tsunami waves. This is apparently mistaken. In fact, flooding of an altogether different nature was taken for a tsunami... After the earthquake, pouring rain began. The water breached the blockage and flooded the underlying locality. See the earthquake listing for more information.
Reference #40:
1913, March 14. Philippines and Indonesia. Epicenter 04o48'N., 126o6'E. The shock was felt in the Philippines and northern Indonesia. Destruction was reported from Palau Sangihe and Palau-Palau Talaud (4o20'N., 126o50'E.). Seaquakes and waves were observed.
Reference #1187:
1913, March 14. ...Cabarbaran and Jobonga [Philippines] - shock was felt with the same intensity as in Butuan, duration was also about two minutes. Several boatmen, who were out at sea near Surigao, felt the shock and it caused waves to rise. (D. Generoso Copin, Observer, Butuan).
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surigao, Mindanao Island | Philippines | 495 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1913The 1900sTsunamis of IndonesiaThe earthquakeThe 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 1407.