February 14, 1934 Tsunami: South China Sea, Philippines

Reference #414:

1934, February 14, 12:00 local time (17.5 N, 119 E, magnitude 7.6), there was a strong earthquake in the South China Sea, off the western coast of Luzon Island. The earthquake was accompanied by a small tsunami, which was observed at San Estaban. According to reports, the sea first retreated so markedly that the residents rushed to the dry strip of bottom to collect fish. Some of them almost drowned when the reflux was succeeded by a tidal wave.

Almost immediately during the earthquake (at 12:01), the Manila - Shanghai cable was cut. A ship sent from Shanghai to fix it found breaks at the following points: 17 deg 26 min 24 sec N., 119 deg 16 min 50 sec E., and 17 deg 25 min 45 sec N., 119 deg 16 min 50 sec E. The cable was repaired on February 23-25, but broke again on March 2 about in the middle between these two points, but this time the seismic stations did not register any earthquake. The bottom in the region of the break previously had an average depth of 2,465 m. Measurements of the bottom during repairs showed that the depth of the sea had diminished to 2,366 m 4 km south of the break, and had increased to 2,563 another 2 km further south.

The distinctive feature of the earthquake was the presence of very intensive long-period (20-30 sec.) waves between P and S onsets on the records of the stations at Hong Kong, Fulyan, Tsi Ka Vei (China) and others. The earthquake was accompanied by numerous recurrent shocks

Reference #1187:

1934, February 14, 11:59 a.m. Luzon 17o20'N - 119o20'E: It was perceptible over all of Luzon. The shaken area was approximately 1,885,900 sq km or 723,400 sq miles. In the coast towns nearest the centre of the earthquake, the motion was perceptible for 90 to 120 seconds, while in Manila, some 350 kms from the epicentre, the motion lasted about 60 seconds. Although the earthquake caused considerable alarm, the damage done on land was negligible... This epicentre is about 115 kms due west of San Esteban where a sea disturbance was observed. The first movement of the sea was reported to have been a recession and to such a noticeable extent that the people hurried out onto the exposed shore to gather fish which had been left stranded. Some persons narrowly escaped drowning when the water returned.

Reference #132:

1934, February 14. China Sea, 18o N, 118o E. Wave felt on northwest coast of Luzon.

Reference #10958:

1934, February 14. In the Ilocos Sur town of San Esteban, sea disturbance was reported (SEASEE, 1985) and some people narrowly escaped drowning when they tried to retrieve exposed fishes. Some surges were noted at sea south of Vigan shores (Repetti, 1934; Heck, 1947; Berninghausen, 1969). Tsunami probability is ranked as “positive”.