August 23, 1936 Tsunami: Off Northwest Coast, Indonesia
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7.3 earthquake began at Off Northwest Coast, Indonesia on August 23, 1936 at 21:12:13 UTC. It killed 9 people, counting the earthquake or eruption that caused it.
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
- August 23, 1936, 21:12:13 UTC
- Source
- Off Northwest Coast, Indonesia
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 7.3
- Runups recorded
- 0
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Questionable tsunami
- Source location
- 6.100° N, 94.700° E
The toll
- Deaths
- 9 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Injuries
- 20 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million) 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 #96 lists August 23, 1936 at 21:12:13 UTC, 6 N 95 E, magnitude 7.3, possible tsunami.
More
Every tsunami in 1936The 1900sTsunamis of IndonesiaThe 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 1692.