May 20, 2006 Tsunami: Soufriere Hills Volcano, Montserrat
A tsunami caused by a volcano began at Soufriere Hills Volcano, Montserrat on May 20, 2006 at 11:20 UTC. The water rose as high as 1 meters. Its effects were recorded at 4 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
- May 20, 2006, 11:20 UTC
- Source
- Soufriere Hills Volcano, Montserrat
- Cause
- Volcano
- Volcano
- The eruption that caused it
- Maximum water height
- 1 m (3.3 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 4
- Warning
- Tsunami Information or Attention Bulletin issued by any agency
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 16.722° N, 62.180° W
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
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.
A major lava dome collapse took place at approximately 7:20 am local time, and pyroclastic flows reached the sea at the end of Tar River Valley on the eastern side of the island. The Montserrat Volcano Observatory (Reference #2402) confirmed that flows went into the Trants and Spanish Point areas. Tsunamis were reported at Deshaies Beach at Guadeloupe, at Montserrat, and also at Antigua.
By 06:32, a 1-meter high tsunami was reported from Deshaies Beach in Guadeloupe and swells were detected in
Little Bay, Montserrat and at Jolly Harbour and English
Harbour, Antigua. According to the testimonies [from a field survey the next day at Deshaies, Guadeloupe] of a fisherman who was at the beach, the effects of the tsunami were felt in the harbour of Deshaies at 7 am. Two small fishing boats moored in the mouth were slightly damaged. One sank at the river bed. The boats located in the marina were not damaged. (reference #2663)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Little Bay | Montserrat | 7 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Jolly Harbour | Antigua and Barbuda | 50 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| English Harbour | Antigua and Barbuda | 59 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Deshaies, Basse-Terre Island | Guadeloupe | 62 | 1 | Runup height, post-tsunami survey |
More
Every tsunami in 2006The 2000sTsunamis of MontserratThe eruptionThis 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 2877.