April 3, 1919 Tsunami: Sulawesi, Indonesia
A tsunami caused by a volcano began at Sulawesi, Indonesia on April 3, 1919. The water rose as high as 5 meters.
Where the waves reached
The source of the tsunami. No runup with a place is recorded for it.
- 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
- April 3, 1919
- Source
- Sulawesi, Indonesia
- Cause
- Volcano
- Volcano
- The eruption that caused it
- Maximum water height
- 5 m (16.4 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 0
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Very doubtful tsunami
- Source location
- 3.138° N, 125.491° E
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Houses destroyed
- Few (about 1 to 50) 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.
On July 18, 1918 at 10;30 [local time] an eruption of an underwater volcano occurred near Mahengetang Island (to the south of Sangihe Island).
The eruptions of the volcano continued at the beginning of 1919. In March and April [1919], the residents returned, but the volcano continued to be active. On April 2 [1919], a new strong eruption began, and a column of steam 4-5 km high rose over the volcano on the morning of April 3 [1919]. A number of homes caught fire in the ash and rockfall. The residents could not evacuate because of the rough sea. Water rose 1-2 m, sometimes 5 m, on an area of 16 m2 over the volcano. This was accompanied by muffled shots. The temperature of the water and air was high.
(above from reference #414)
More
Every tsunami in 1919The 1900sTsunamis of IndonesiaThe 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 3511.