November 13, 1925 Tsunami: Philippine Sea, Philippines
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7.3 earthquake began at Philippine Sea, Philippines on November 13, 1925 at 12:14:45 UTC. Its effects were recorded at 2 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
The tsunami
- Date
- November 13, 1925, 12:14:45 UTC
- Source
- Philippine Sea, Philippines
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 7.3, 22 km deep
- Runups recorded
- 2
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- 0.5
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Probable tsunami
- Source location
- 13.000° N, 125.000° E
The toll
- Deaths
- Some (about 51 to 100)
- Injuries
- Many (about 101 to 1,000) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 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 #414:
1925, November 13, (mistakenly 25), 20:16 [local time]. At Manila, only a few people, who were at rest, noticed the earthquake. However, water splashed out of two large reservoirs 20-25 m in diameter, possibly because of the resonance oscillations which developed. The earthquake was accompanied by numerous recurrent shocks. Off the low-lying coast of Batag Island, the sea retreated, and then surged in strongly; several fishermen drowned and many fishing boats were sunk. Listed as possible tsunami
Reference #1187:
1925, November 13. Damage: Batag Island - the lighthouse, a modern concrete construction, was fissured and the optical and mechanical parts of the lantern damaged. In the soil, cracks opened and the low shores were flooded by the waves caused by the earthquake; many fishermen lost their fishing boats and several were drowned. Numerous native houses were destroyed.
Reference #10958:
1925, November 13. At Batag island, the sea was observed to retreat and then surged back strongly to flood low-lying areas. Several fishermen drowned and boats sunk (SEASEE, 1985). This is not found in the catalog of Iida et al (1967). Tsunami probability is ranked as “positive”.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batag Island | Philippines | 78 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Manila | Philippines | 469 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1925The 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 1559.