December 28, 1928 Tsunami: Philippines
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 6.9 earthquake began at Philippines on December 28, 1928.
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
The tsunami
- Date
- December 28, 1928
- Source
- Philippines
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 6.9
- Runups recorded
- 0
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Erroneous entry
- Source location
- 7.500° N, 123.000° 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 #40:
1928 Dec. 28. Philippines. Destructive earthquake and wave reported from Cotabato (07'13'N., 124'15'E.) the capital of Mindanao Province. Wave probably struck the coast near Cotabato, which is inland, (Georgetown Univ. 1926).
Reference #10958:
Berninghausen (1969) cited a work by Georgetown University (1926) about a destructive earthquake and waves that struck the inland town of Cotabato at 10:19 AM on December 28, 1928. According to SEASEE (1985), the earthquake affected the small peninsula that separates Sibuguey and Dimaguilas from Illana Bay. The quake is said to have destroyed many native houses of Moros and miners (SEASEE, 1985). It also caused slight damage to Cotabato and was also felt in Jolo town in Sulu province and Zamboanga peninsula. Meanwhile, there was no mention of tsunami in the SEASEE (1985). Tsunami probability is ranked as doubtful
Reference #414 notes this event on 28 December is the incorrect date, the event refered to is the 19 December 1928 tsunami event.
More
Every tsunami in 1928The 1900sTsunamis of PhilippinesThis 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 6006.