September 13, 1999 Tsunami: Fatu Hiva, French Polynesia
A tsunami caused by a landslide began at Fatu Hiva, French Polynesia on September 13, 1999. The water rose as high as 8 meters. Its effects were recorded at 9 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
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
- September 13, 1999
- Source
- Fatu Hiva, French Polynesia
- Cause
- Landslide
- Maximum water height
- 8 m (26.2 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 9
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 10.520° S, 138.670° W
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- Houses damaged
- Few (about 1 to 50)
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.
On 13 September 1999, a local tsunami, comprising two waves separated by a few minutes, hit the village of Omoa, on the island of Fatu Hiva, French Polynesia. It inflicted serious damages to structures built close to the seashore, in particular to the local elementary school. The tsunami was generated by the collapse of a basaltic cliff, located 3 km to the southeast of Omoa, along the coastline. The volume of the landslide is estimated to range from 2 to 5 million m3, of which 60% fell into the sea. A preliminary simulation of the tsunami provides an acceptable explanation of wave amplitudes, as well as an estimate of the origin time of landslide. The runup height was measured at 4 m at the school, 5 m at the ice-making plant, 5 to 7 m on the northern shore of the river, and up to 8 m immediately north of the launching dock at Pointe Matahumu. South of Omoa Bay, the runup reached 7 m along the elevated shoreline, but only 3 m between the school and Motutapu, an outgrowth of basalt reaching 10 m altitude and protruding 120 m into the sea (220 m at a depth of 10m below sea level). (reference #3395)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elementary School, Omoa | French Polynesia | 2 | 4 | Runup height, post-tsunami survey | |||
| Ice-Making Plant, Omoa | French Polynesia | 2 | 5 | Runup height, post-tsunami survey | |||
| N Shore of Vaitopii River, Omoa | French Polynesia | 2 | 7 | Runup height, post-tsunami survey | |||
| N Dock at Pointe Matahumu, Omoa | French Polynesia | 2 | 8 | Runup height, post-tsunami survey | |||
| S of Omoa Bay, Omoa | French Polynesia | 2 | 7 | Runup height, post-tsunami survey | |||
| B/W School and Motutapu, Omoa | French Polynesia | 2 | 3 | Runup height, post-tsunami survey | |||
| Tahaoa Beach, Omoa | French Polynesia | 2 | 7 | Runup height, post-tsunami survey | |||
| Vaitopii River Bridge, Omoa | French Polynesia | 2 | 3 | 130 | Runup height, post-tsunami survey | ||
| Hanavave | French Polynesia | 6 | 1.9 | 12.5 | Runup height, post-tsunami survey |
More
Every tsunami in 1999The 1900sTsunamis of French PolynesiaThis 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 3229.