July 24, 1939 Tsunami: Kick 'Em Jenny Volcano, Grenada
A tsunami caused by a volcano began at Kick 'Em Jenny Volcano, Grenada on July 24, 1939. The water rose as high as 2 meters. Its effects were recorded at 3 places in at least 3 countries.
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
- July 24, 1939
- Source
- Kick 'Em Jenny Volcano, Grenada
- Cause
- Volcano
- Volcano
- The eruption that caused it
- Maximum water height
- 2 m (6.6 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 3
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Questionable tsunami
- Source location
- 12.300° N, 61.630° W
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.
Minor tsunami are believed to have been generated by the eruptions of 24 July 1939. (reference #10162 and 10176)
The eruption of Kick-'em-Jenny submarine volcano generated a tsunami which had an amplitude of 1-2 meters in northern Grenada. the southern Grenadines and Barbados. (reference #1917)
Since the Kick-'em-Jenny Submarine Volcano, located near The Sisters, north of David Point, Grenada, was first noted in 1939, "It has erupted at about 5-year intervals. The 1939 and 1990 events may have generated very small tsunamis of local extent," according to Sigurdsson. Validity 2 (Tsunami may or may not have occurred) tsunami event. (reference #1492)
Kick'em Jenny's first recorded eruption occurred in 1939, causing a series of tsunami-like waves with amplitudes of about 2 m in the Grenadines and the Grenada Island. Validity 2 (questionable) tsunami event. (reference #9886)
Kick-'em Jenny's 1939 eruption also generated a series of tsunami-like waves, which had amplitudes of about 2 meters in northern Grenada and the southern Grenadines. The waves probably reached the west coast of the Barbados, but were not noticed as their heights had attenuated significantly. (reference #1918)
Minor tsunami are believed to have been generated by the eruptions of 24 July 1939 (Devas and MacAdam- Sherwin, 1939) and 25 October 1965 (Shepherd and Robson, 1967). (reference #10162, #10176)
Some small waves were generated during the eruption (Devas and MacAdam-Sherwin, 1939; Devas, 1974). Based on eye witness descriptions, these were short wavelength waves more closely resembling heavy surf than a tsunami. (reference #13659)
validity 2, max water height 2 m (reference #13721)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grenada | Grenada | 21 | 2 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Barbados | Barbados | 247 | 1 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| The Grenadines | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 2 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1939The 1900sTsunamis of GrenadaThe 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 5694.