December 25, 1933 Tsunami: E. Samar Island, Philippines
A tsunami caused by a volcano began at E. Samar Island, Philippines on December 25, 1933. Its effects were recorded at 1 place. It killed 9 people.
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
- December 25, 1933
- Source
- E. Samar Island, Philippines
- Cause
- Volcano
- Volcano
- The eruption that caused it
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- 1
- Tsunami magnitude (Iida)
- 0.5
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Very doubtful tsunami
- Source location
- 12.770° N, 124.050° E
The toll
- Deaths
- 9
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 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.
Reference #414:
1933, December 25. According to newspaper reports, the Bulusan Volcano (southeast of Luzon Island) erupted strongly. The strong tidal wave which accompanied the eruption did great damage. Nine people died. (Anon., 1934; Neumann van Padang, 1953). This information is reproduced in some compendia with no indication of the site (Neumann, 1935; Iida et al. ,1967; Cox, 1970).
Reference #79:
1933. December 26. Neumann reports a volcanic eruption, typhoon and tidal wave. No details or places or effects. The tidal wave was probably a storm surge.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southeast Luzon Island | Philippines | 11 | Eyewitness observation of water height | 9 |
More
Every tsunami in 1933The 1900sTsunamis of PhilippinesThe 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 1666.