May 1990 Tsunami: Caniguin Is.,philippines
A tsunami of unknown cause began at Caniguin Is.,philippines in May 1990. The water rose as high as 5 meters. Its effects were recorded at 1 place.
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
- May 1990
- Source
- Caniguin Is.,philippines
- Cause
- Unknown
- Maximum water height
- 5 m (16.4 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Very doubtful tsunami
- Source location
- 7.000° N, 126.000° E
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.
George Pararas-Carayannis, then Director of the International Tsunami Information Center, reported being told of a tsunami sometime in May near an island called Bohol that was visually observed with 4-5 meters height on Caniguin Island north of Mindanao, Philippines. There were only about six earthquakes reported in the Philippines in May, and all were below magnitude 5. If this is a valid report, it may have been a local landslide event as no tsunami records can be found.
Pararas-Carayannis, 1990. Validity 1. (reference #1315)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caniguin Island | Philippines | 340 | 5 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1990The 1900sTsunamis of PhilippinesAlerts 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 2195.