April 21, 1995 Tsunami: Samar Island, Philippines
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7.2 earthquake began at Samar Island, Philippines on April 21, 1995 at 00:34:46 UTC. The water rose as high as 2 meters. Its effects were recorded at 3 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
- April 21, 1995, 00:34:46 UTC
- Source
- Samar Island, Philippines
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 7.2, 21 km deep
- Maximum water height
- 2 m (6.6 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 3
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- -2
- Tsunami magnitude (Iida)
- -3.3
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 12.059° N, 125.580° 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.
Local tsunami generated with maximum wave heights (peak-to- trough) of 10 cm recorded at Legaspi, Luzon. (reference #1053)
tsunami with a height of 20 cm at Legaspi, Luzon. (reference #1315)
local tsunami with maximum wave height of 10 cm was recorded by the Legaspi City port tide gauge for the 8:34 AM quake (reference #10958)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dolores, Samar Island | Philippines | 11 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| San Julian, Samar Island | Philippines | 40 | 2 | 40 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||
| Legaspi | Philippines | 233 | 0.05 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) |
More
Every tsunami in 1995The 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 2026-09-24. NCEI tsunami event 2241.