Tsunamis in 1928

March 26, 1928 Tsunami: Krakatau, Indonesia

March 26, 1928 · 4 m · Probable tsunami

A tsunami caused by a volcano began at Krakatau, Indonesia on March 26, 1928. The water rose as high as 4 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

Tsunami warnings in force

The tsunami

Date
March 26, 1928
Source
Krakatau, Indonesia
Cause
Volcano
Maximum water height
4 m (13.1 ft)
Runups recorded
0
Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
0
Waters
Ocean
How certain
Probable tsunami
Source location
6.102° S, 105.423° E

The toll

The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this tsunami.

What the record says

NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.

Reference #414:

March 26, 1928. An eruption of Krakatau Volcano was accompanied by waves which were observed in the vicinity of the volcano. The sea level rose and fell nine times. (Authenticity of Tsunami = Possible; Tsunami Intensity = 0)

Reference #42:

March 26, 1928. Sunda Strait. An eruption of Krakatau was accompanied by waves in the vicinity. The sea rose and fell nine times.

Reference #4646:

Waves arose in two different ways; firstly by the collapse of the water-cone (a-wave) and, secondly by the falling ejecta (b-wave). The former waves are the higher. On January 18th 1928 at .9h 27m 13s we observed that with the fall of a watercone 45 m high a wave was formed that was 4 m higher than the normal sea~level. Reference #1686 also attributes the tsunami to Janaury 1928

Reference #2339 lists 1929 year of 4 m tsunami observation citing Reference #4646 which actually lists 1928

Reference #12917 lists March 26, 1928.

More

Every tsunami in 1928The 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 1593.