June 26, 1917 Tsunami: Samoa Islands
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 8.3 earthquake began at Samoa Islands on June 26, 1917 at 05:49:42 UTC. The water rose as high as 12.2 meters. Its effects were recorded at 17 places in at least 5 countries. It killed 2 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
- June 26, 1917, 05:49:42 UTC
- Source
- Samoa Islands
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 8.3, 25 km deep
- Maximum water height
- 12.2 m (40.0 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 17
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- 3
- Tsunami magnitude (Iida)
- 3.6
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 15.500° S, 173.000° W
The toll
- Deaths
- 2
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Many (101 to 1,000)
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 catastrophic earthquake with a source between the islands of Samoa and Tonga generated a tsunami up to 12 meters. On the southern shore of the island of Upolu, waves reached a height of 3.1 meters and caused destruction in several villages. The tsunami was destructive in Sainili and Pago Pago on the island of Tutuila.On the tide gauge record at Apia, the fluctuations of the water level began 5 minutes after the earthquake. The tsunami was also recorded on tide gauges in Hawaii and Honolulu. (above from Reference #415)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Niuatoputapu | Tonga | 97 | 2.74 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Fagaloa | Samoa | 195 | Eyewitness observation of water height | 2 | |||
| Satupaitea, Savai'I | Samoa | 205 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Palauli, Savai'I | Samoa | 207 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Sainili (Sinalei) | Samoa | 210 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Upolu Island | Samoa | 210 | 3.1 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Lotofaga, Upolu Island | Samoa | 223 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Apia, Upolu Island | Samoa | 228 | 0.4 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 26, 05:55 | ||
| Aleipata Coast, Upolu Island | Samoa | 236 | 3 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Leone, Tutuila, American Samoa, AS | US Territories | 271 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Pago Pago, American Samoa, AS | US Territories | 283 | 2.4 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Haapai | Tonga | 495 | 4.2 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Honolulu, Oahu, HI, HI | United States | 4,394 | 0.1 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 26, 13:32 | ||
| San Francisco, CA, CA | United States | 7,916 | 0.04 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 26, 17:02 | ||
| San Diego, CA, CA | United States | 7,982 | 0.1 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Tofino (Clayoquot),british Columbia, BC | Canada | 8,529 | 0.05 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 26, 17:18 | ||
| Samoa, South Coast | Samoa | 12.2 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1917The 1900sTsunamis of SamoaThe 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 1446.