August 28, 2019 Tsunami: Stromboli Island, Italy
A tsunami caused by a volcano began at Stromboli Island, Italy on August 28, 2019 at 10:17:15 UTC. The water rose as high as 0.3 meters. Its effects were recorded at 2 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
- August 28, 2019, 10:17:15 UTC
- Source
- Stromboli Island, Italy
- Cause
- Volcano
- Volcano
- The eruption that caused it
- Maximum water height
- 0.3 m (1.0 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 2
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Probable tsunami
- Source location
- 38.789° N, 15.213° 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.
It has been a paroxysmal explosion of less intensity compared to the one of last July 3, however the whole system is on alert and the volcano is constantly monitored", said the Head of Department Angelo Borrelli, who presided over the crisis unit gathered today, at 2 p.m., in the headquarters of Via Vitorchiano in Rome after the paroxysmal explosion occurred on the Stromboli volcano at 12.17 this morning.
In close contact with the mayor of Lipari, Marco Giorgianni, the Department of Civil Protection of the Sicilian Region, the Prefecture of Messina, the Etnean Observatory of the INGV and other centres of expertise, the Fire Department, the Harbour Master's Office and the various operational structures of the civil protection system, including the Armed Forces and the Police Forces, the situation on the island of Stromboli was assessed just a few hours after the explosion, which also caused a 30-centimeter tsunami wave, constantly monitored.
No damage to people or property has been detected as a result of the explosion, nor is there any leakage. The access to the volcano is forbidden by the Mayor since the explosions that took place last July. At the moment, the activities of monitoring the paths leading to the volcano keep going.
Soon after the explosion, two canadairs have been sent to the island with the aim of extinguishing the fires caused by the explosion in the shortest possible time. The Harbour Master's Office provided some boats for the eventuality of a transfer of people. The island has also been banned from recreational boat traffic. Scheduled transfers, on the other hand, are guaranteed.
Besides the activation of the whole system, the volunteers on the island are constantly informing the population about the situation and the preventive measures to adopt. The alarm sirens and all the measures provided for in the civil protection plan have also been activated shortly after the explosion.
(all above from reference #12497)
In the summer 2019, on 3 July at 14:45:42 UTC and on 28 August at 10:17:15 UTC two violent explosive paroxysms struck Stromboli island. The partial collapse of the 6–8 km high eruptive column and, most probably, also of part of the crater rim, generated pyroclastic density current along the steep slope of Sciaradel Fuoco impacting the sea surface and triggering tsunami waves (reference #13744)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ginostra, Stromboli Island | Italy | 2 | 0.3 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Punta Labronzo, Stromboli Island | Italy | 3 | 0.3 | Deep ocean gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 28, 10:18 |
More
Every tsunami in 2019The 2000sTsunamis of ItalyThe 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 5716.