April 14, 1924 Tsunami: E. Mindanao Island, Philippines
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 8.3 earthquake and a landslide began at E. Mindanao Island, Philippines on April 14, 1924 at 16:20:23 UTC. Its effects were recorded at 3 places.
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
Travel times
How long the first wave took to reach each part of the ocean, one line for each hour up to 24, estimated from the source and the depth of the sea.
The travel times are computed in your browser, which needs JavaScript.
- 1 to 4 hours
- 5 to 6 hours
- 7 to 14 hours
- 15 hours and more
Computed in your browser the way NOAA’s own travel time maps are: the wave travels at the square root of gravity times the depth, over NOAA’s ETOPO1 depths averaged to a 10 arc-minute grid. Checked against NOAA NCEI’s maps for 21 tsunamis over the first 24 hours, these lines fall within 10 minutes of NCEI’s at half the points compared and within 52 minutes at 9 in 10. They give when the first wave could arrive, not how high it is; bays, harbors and island chains finer than the grid can see it later. Not for use in a warning: see tsunami.gov.
The tsunami
- Date
- April 14, 1924, 16:20:23 UTC
- Source
- E. Mindanao Island, Philippines
- Cause
- Earthquake and landslide
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 8.3, 33 km deep
- Runups recorded
- 3
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- 0.5
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 6.500° N, 126.500° E
The toll
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 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:
April 15, 1924, 0:20 [local time]. There was a destructive earthquake with source to the southeast of Mindanao Island. On the Pacific coast, approximately between 8 deg north and Davao Bay, the loose soil cover cracked, numerous landslides descended from the steep slopes, and rocks fell from cliffs. A strong seaquake was felt on board a steamship riding at anchor in Caraga Bay. The sea suddenly became very stormy. The steamship was jerked so strongly that they feared that the anchor chain would snap. At the same time, one could see enormous waves smashing against the cliffs on the northern coast of the bay. Binuangan was inundated. There were no victims. The tsunami may have been observed at Mati.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mati Mindanao | Philippines | 59 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Caraga Bay | Philippines | 92 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Binuangan | Philippines | 120 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1924The 1900sTsunamis of PhilippinesThe 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 1536.