August 20, 1944 Tsunami: Stromboli Island, Italy
A tsunami caused by a volcano and a landslide began at Stromboli Island, Italy on August 20, 1944 at 06:30 UTC. Its effects were recorded at 2 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 20, 1944, 06:30 UTC
- Source
- Stromboli Island, Italy
- Cause
- Volcano and landslide
- Volcano
- The eruption that caused it
- Runups recorded
- 2
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- 4
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 38.789° N, 15.213° E
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- 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.
1944, August 20, 06:30 UTC. Aeolian Islands. 38o48'N, 15o12'E. Tsunami intensity 4, reliability 4. Large explosion at Stromboli. Hot avalanche at the Forgia Vecchia. At Punta Lena the sea penetrates 300 m destroying one house. A lot of fish found on the beach (Cavallaro, ref #10535; Barberi, ref #10534). (reference #4139)
1944, August 20. A house was destroyed by a tsunami in 1944. (reference #10534)
1944, August 20. Aeolian Islands, Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy: During a large explosion in Stromboli the sea penetrated at Punta Lena about 300 m inland, destroying one house. A lot of fish were found on the beach. This local tsunami was possibly triggered by hot avalanche at the Forcia Vecchia. (reference #10357)
1944, August 20. After a period of intense activity, on August 20 at 07:30, a terrible explosion occurred with lava bombs and ash ejected up to great heights. A stream of lava entered the sea at Sciara del Fuoco, and concomitantly water waves were observed that nearly caused the shipwreck of a boat. A hot avalanche at the Forgia Vecchia, on the opposite side of the island, reached the coast where big waves were noted. Eyewitnesses reported that the beach was full of fish (Ponte, 1948). Some old inhabitants of the island remember the eruption of that year and a light tsunami seen shortly after the explosion, that destroyed one house (Barberi et al., 1993). No news, either about the eruption or about the tsunami, was found in contemporary newspapers, which is not strange, since in that world-war period, their attention was attracted by much more dramatic events. (reference #3078)
1944, August 20, 06:30 UTC. (reference #11164)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forgia Vecchia, Stromboli Island | Italy | 1 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Punta Lena, Stromboli Island | Italy | 3 | 300 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1944The 1900sTsunamis of ItalyThe 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 4227.