March 17, 1930 Tsunami: Krakatau, Indonesia
A tsunami caused by a volcano began at Krakatau, Indonesia on March 17, 1930. The water rose as high as 500 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
The tsunami
- Date
- March 17, 1930
- Source
- Krakatau, Indonesia
- Cause
- Volcano
- Volcano
- The eruption that caused it
- Maximum water height
- 500 m (1640.4 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 0
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Very doubtful 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.
March 17, 1930. In 1930, the Krakatau Volcano erupted with the formation of a mud island. At one of the intermediate stages (the 12th), between March 10 and April 5, the surface of the sea repeatedly swelled up above the volcano, on March 17 to a height of 500 m. (reference #414)
More
Every tsunami in 1930The 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 1624.