March 19, 1952 Tsunami: E. of Mindano, Philippines
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake began at E. of Mindano, Philippines on March 19, 1952 at 10:57:12 UTC. The water rose as high as 0.33 meters. Its effects were recorded at 5 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
- March 19, 1952, 10:57:12 UTC
- Source
- E. of Mindano, Philippines
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 7.8, 25 km deep
- Maximum water height
- 0.33 m (1.1 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 5
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 9.500° N, 127.250° E
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 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 #414:
1952, March 19, 18:59. There was an earthquake with source to the east of Mindanao Island. The force of tremors was: 5 degrees (VI) at Butuan, 4-5 degrees (V) at Surigao, 4 degrees at Tacloban, Cebu, Cagayan, Dipolog, Davao, 3 degrees at Catbalogan, Dadiangas, Virac, Hunatuan, Borongan and 2 degrees at Iloilo and Malaybalay. The only damage was the cracking of the wall of the city church at Butuan and the falling out of a piece of wall 2-3 m in size, which broke several pews (Minoza et al., no date). A tsunami arose, which was registered as a wave 7 1/2 cm high (1/4 foot) on Yap Island and on Guam, in Apra Harbor and at Tarague. The tide gauge on Angaur Island, in the Palau Islands, registered oscillations in level with a maximal raange of 66 cm (2.2 feet) (Murphy, Cloud, 1954; Iida et al., 1967; Cox, 1970). [Gutenberg, Richter (1954): 19.III; 10h57m12s; 9.5 N., 127.25 E.; M=7.75.]
Reference #236:
1952, March 19, 10:57. A magnitude 7.7 earthquake occurred east of Mindanao, Philippines. A tsunami was recorded with an amplitude of 0.3 m on Angaur Island, Palau Islands, less than 0.1 m on Guam at Tarague and Apra Harbor, and on the Yap Islands. It also caused a minor trace of a tsunami recorded at the tide gage of Pago Pago. Although it was also recorded at Yap Island and Guam, there are no reports that the wave was observed in the Philippines.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angaur Island | Palau | 811 | 0.33 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 19, 12:03 | ||
| Yap Island, Caroline Islands | Micronesia | 1,195 | 0.04 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 19, 12:45 | ||
| Apra Harbor, Guam, GU | US Territories | 1,947 | 0.04 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Tarague, Guam, GU | US Territories | 1,977 | 0.04 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Pago Pago, American Samoa, AS | US Territories | 7,338 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) |
More
Every tsunami in 1952The 1900sTsunamis of PhilippinesThe 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 2026-10-01. NCEI tsunami event 1820.