August 16, 1917 Tsunami: Taku Inlet, Juneau, AK, United States
A tsunami caused by a landslide began at Taku Inlet, Juneau, AK, United States on August 16, 1917. The water rose as high as 2.4 meters. Its effects were recorded at 1 place. It killed 1 person.
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
- August 16, 1917
- Source
- Taku Inlet, Juneau, AK, United States
- Cause
- Landslide
- Maximum water height
- 2.4 m (7.9 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Probable tsunami
- Source location
- 58.204° N, 134.147° W
The toll
- Deaths
- 1
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
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.
News of a great tidal wave which swept Taku Inlet several days ago has been brought here simultaneously with the body of Ole Skagen of Tacoma, Wash., a victim of the wave. Glacier disturbances, unequaled in four generations and probably caused by earthquakes, induced the tidal wave, more than eight feet high to sweep the inlet. The entire fleet of fishing vessels at the mouth of the Taku river were swept away. (reference #11638)
Juneau, Alaska, Aug. 20. News reached here today with the arrival of the body of one victim of a terrific tidal wave in Taku inlet last Thursday, which may have claimed the lives of several other fishermen besides doing
considerable damage to the fishing fleet. The wave was due to the breaking of a huge dead glacier and a cave-in from a live glacier. No such ice disturbances are known to have taken place here for generations. It is feared that many other fishing-boats and their crews were lost. (reference #11637)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taku Inlet, AK, AK | United States | 0 | 2.4 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1917The 1900sTsunamis of United StatesThis 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 5614.