October 24, 1927 Tsunami: SE. Alaska, AK, United States
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7.1 earthquake and a landslide began at SE. Alaska, AK, United States on October 24, 1927 at 15:59:44 UTC. Its effects were recorded at 9 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
- October 24, 1927, 15:59:44 UTC
- Source
- SE. Alaska, AK, United States
- Cause
- Earthquake and landslide
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 7.1, 25 km deep
- Runups recorded
- 9
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Probable tsunami
- Source location
- 57.690° N, 136.070° W
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
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.
Strong "tide rips" were reported on Cross Sound. Submarine cables were broken in Ketchikan, and between Wrangell and Petersburg and between Juneau and Skagway. At Cape St. Elias, heavy seas broke a towline. The sea at Icy Straits was muddy, and churned. At Seattle, Washington, small waves were observed on water in swimming pools.
1927, October 24, 8:00 local time (16:00 UTC). There was a strong earthquake, affecting the entire southeastern prominence of Alaska and adjacent regions of Canada. Small waves were observed in swimming pools in Seattle. According to Bois' survey (1928), a "solitary" wave reached the Hawaiian Islands (Reference #415).
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Icy Straits, AK, AK | United States | 66 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Juneau, AK, AK | United States | 119 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Skagway, AK, AK | United States | 200 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Petersburg, AK, AK | United States | 212 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Wrangell, AK, AK | United States | 262 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Ketchikan, AK, AK | United States | 379 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Cape St. Elias, AK, AK | United States | 546 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Seattle, WA, WA | United States | 1,452 | Other | ||||
| Honolulu, Oahu, HI, HI doubtful | United States | 4,411 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1927The 1900sTsunamis of United StatesThe 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 1584.