October 2, 1919 Tsunami: Alika, Hawaii, United States

1919, October 2. "The Mauna Loa volcano eruption of September 28 poured lava into the sea at Alika on the Kona coast on September 30, generating unusual wave activity at times. Many tourists came to see the sight. One family was on the Hoopuloa wharf to get a canoe to see the flow better. Suddenly, the sea receded, exposing the bay floor. The waters soon returned as a 4.3-m wave washing the man, his wife, and one son off their feet. One son tried in vain to save the family auto and was swept into a wharf shed where he held onto some beams. The man was washed about 100 m to sea, but managed to get back. His wife was carried about 400 m to sea, but was rescued by two Hawaiians who swam to a still floating canoe to reach her. The man estimated that there were 10 waves. An 18.000-liter water tank was destroyed. At Keauhou the wave height was about 2.4 m and about 0.9 m at Kailua. There was not an accompanying earthquake nor could the velocity of the lava flow generate a tsunami. A possible explanation would be the sudden collapse of the 1.5-day accumulations of lava at or beyond the shoreline." (Reference #236)

1919, Septetmber-October. On September 26, the Mauna Loa volcano, which had been dormant since June 1916, revived. A thick flow of lava issued from this lower crater. Less than 24 hours later, it filled up all irregularities of the relief, drove a road through the forest and reached the sea side approximately 28 km (15 miles) from the crater. For 10 days, the flow poured into the water, sometimes generating local tidal waves. On October 2nd, one family was washed into the water and was almost lost. Then the eruption began to subside, although volcanic activity was still noticeable on October 23 (Reference #415).