December 22, 1925 Tsunami: Caroline Islands, Micronesia
A tsunami of meteorological origin began at Caroline Islands, Micronesia on December 22, 1925. Its effects were recorded at 1 place.
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
- December 22, 1925
- Source
- Caroline Islands, Micronesia
- Cause
- Meteorological
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- 1.5
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Very doubtful tsunami
- Source location
- 10.000° N, 138.000° E
The toll
- Deaths
- Many (about 101 to 1,000)
- Injuries
- Many (about 101 to 1,000)
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 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.
Reference #236:
1925, December 22. At about 4:00 P.M. sea waves devastated the Yap Islands causing high casualties and destruction. The underwater cable between Guam and the Yap Islands was cut. These were meteorological waves. (Soloviev and Go. 1974, p. 192)
Reference #414:
1925, December 22, 16:00 [local time]. Validity possible. The western part of the Caroline Islands was devastated by a terrible tsunami. Yap Island suffered especially. There, an enormous number of homes were washed away and there were many victims. [There were waves of meteorological origin.]
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yap Island, Caroline Islands | Micronesia | 55 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1925The 1900sTsunamis of MicronesiaThis 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 1562.