August 21, 1934 Tsunami: S. California, United States
A tsunami of meteorological origin began at S. California, United States on August 21, 1934. The water rose as high as 12 meters. Its effects were recorded at 9 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
The tsunami
- Date
- August 21, 1934
- Source
- S. California, United States
- Cause
- Meteorological
- Maximum water height
- 12 m (39.4 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 9
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- 3
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- An event that only caused a seiche
- Source location
- 33.700° N, 118.200° W
The toll
- Damage
- $75,000
- Houses destroyed
- 1
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.
High tides coupled with heavy waves damaged parts of the southern California coast and caused some flooding. 10 people were rescued from high surf. Local scientists ascribed the oscilattions to seiches in the basin formed with the Channel Islands and triggered by remote storms and aggravated by high tides. (reference #237)
Reference #12345 lists as validity 2 (questionable tsunami).
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long Beach, CA, CA | United States | 6 | Other | ||||
| Newport Beach, CA, CA | United States | 29 | 12 | Other | |||
| Balboa, CA, CA | United States | 31 | Other | ||||
| Laguna Beach, CA, CA | United States | 44 | Other | ||||
| Santa Monica, CA, CA | United States | 44 | Other | ||||
| Santa Monica, CA | United States | 45 | Other | ||||
| Malibu Beach, CA, CA | United States | 57 | Other | ||||
| San Diego, CA | United States | 146 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Santa Barbara, CA, CA | United States | 160 | Other |
More
Every tsunami in 1934The 1900sTsunamis of United StatesThis 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 1675.