Tsunamis in 1929

June 13, 1929 Tsunami: E. Mindanao Island, Philippines

June 13, 1929 · 2 m · Probable tsunami

A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7.2 earthquake began at E. Mindanao Island, Philippines on June 13, 1929 at 09:24:34 UTC. The water rose as high as 2 meters. Its effects were recorded at 4 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

Tsunami warnings in force

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
June 13, 1929, 09:24:34 UTC
Source
E. Mindanao Island, Philippines
Cause
Earthquake
Earthquake
Magnitude 7.2
Maximum water height
2 m (6.6 ft)
Runups recorded
4
Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
0.5
Waters
Ocean
How certain
Probable tsunami
Source location
8.500° N, 127.000° E

The toll

Damage
Moderate (about $1 to $5 million) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
Houses destroyed
Many (101 to 1,000) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it

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:

1929, June 13, 17:24. There was a strong earthquake with source off the eastern shore of Mindanao Island. After the earthquake, a small tsunami entered Hinatuan Ray. An eyewitness, who sailed on the following day from Liang to Hinatuan, noted that the entire shore from Cape Lamon to Hinatuan, as well as the surface of the sea, were strewn with dead fish. A resident, who was in a boat on the Agusan River, 2 km upstream from Butuan, noted that after the earthquake, the river flowed backwards. Listed as possible tsunami.

Reference #79:

Small tsunami following severe quake.

Reference #1187:

Hinatuan - Thousands of dead fish cast up on the shore. A small seawave came in.

Reference #10958:

After the quake, a small wave was reported in Hinatuan Bay (Repetti, 1931; Heck, 1947; Iida et al, 1967; Berninghausen, 1969; SEASEE, 1985). From Cape Lamon to Hinatuan, coast was covered by dead fish of various sizes, the biggest of which was 30 inches. Another eyewitness saw the Agusan River flowing backwards (Figure 39). Iida et al (1967) assessed the tsunami magnitude to be 0. Tsunami probability is ranked as “positive”. Tsunami height is estimated to be 2 m in Hinatuan Bay.

Reference #12345 lists this event as a definite tsunami. (accessed Aug 2024)

Every runup

Nearest the source first. Heights are above sea level at the time; a tide gauge reads half the wave’s full height.

WhereCountryKm from sourceWater height, mInland, mMeasured byFirst wave, UTCDeaths
Cape LamonPhilippines68Eyewitness observation of water height
HinatuanPhilippines752Eyewitness observation of water height
EbroPhilippines117Other
ButuanPhilippines168Eyewitness observation of water height

More

Every tsunami in 1929The 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 1617.