April 15, 1979 Tsunami: Montenegro
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 6.9 earthquake began at Montenegro on April 15, 1979 at 06:19:44 UTC. The water rose as high as 3 meters. Its effects were recorded at 6 places in at least 3 countries. It killed 131 people, counting the earthquake or eruption that caused it.
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
- April 15, 1979, 06:19:44 UTC
- Source
- Montenegro
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 6.9, 10 km deep
- Maximum water height
- 3 m (9.8 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 6
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- 1
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 42.096° N, 19.209° E
The toll
- Deaths
- 1; 131 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Injuries
- 1,001 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million); $2.7 billion with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Houses destroyed
- Very many (over 1,000) 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.
April 15, 1979, O8h20m, 42 N, 19 E, depth 4 km, magnitude 7.1 MS, intensity IX, tsunami intensity 1. Adriatic Sea, Montenegro. The catastrophic Montenegro earthquake occurred and resulted in the death of 100 people and in the destruction of many buildings. Calculation of the focal mechanism has led to the conclusion that the earthquake occurred as a result of a horizontal shift of the bottom of the Adriatic Sea relative to the coastal Dinaric Mountain Ridge toward the north -west. A weak tsunami 6 cm high originated, it was recorded by the tide gauge in Boka Kotorska and was noted by the tide gauges in Dubrovnik (Ragusa) and Baro [sic]. (reference #2130)
Local tsunami reported in Kotor Bay causing considerable damage. (reference #1053)
A weak tsunami 6 cm high originated, it was recorded by the tide gauge in Boka Kotorska and was noted by the tide gauges in Dubrovnik and Baro. Sea disturbance seen in the tide-gauge records in Bari. (reference #4139)
we know that the Montenegro tsunami took at least one casualty in Boka Kotorska[...] the Montenegro tsunami was much stronger than was previously believed on the basis of a tide-gauge record in Boka Kotorska (Soloviev et al. 2000). (reference #9531)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bar | Montenegro | 9 | 0.23 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Bar | Montenegro | 9 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Boka Kotorska (Bay of Kotor) | Montenegro | 54 | 0.6 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Boka Kotorska (Bay of Kotor) | Montenegro | 54 | 3 | 50 | Eyewitness observation of water height | 1 | |
| Dubrovnik (Ragusa) | Croatia | 110 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | ||||
| Bari | Italy | 222 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) |
More
Every tsunami in 1979The 1900sTsunamis of MontenegroThe 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 2113.