July 3, 2019 Tsunami: Stromboli Island, Italy
A tsunami caused by a volcano began at Stromboli Island, Italy on July 3, 2019 at 14:45:42 UTC. The water rose as high as 1.3 meters. Its effects were recorded at 4 places. It killed 1 person, counting the earthquake or eruption that caused it.
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
- July 3, 2019, 14:45:42 UTC
- Source
- Stromboli Island, Italy
- Cause
- Volcano
- Volcano
- The eruption that caused it
- Maximum water height
- 1.3 m (4.3 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 4
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 38.789° N, 15.213° E
The toll
- Deaths
- 1 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Injuries
- 1 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.
Reference #13741:
The parossism of the 3rd July 2019 triggered a Tsunami, measured in at least 4 locations around the Stromboli Volcano. The highest on-shore measured height was 40 cm in Ginostra. A floating instrument, closer to the source point, measured about 1.2 m. Probably larger values were occurring on the coasts of the Volcano but no survey has been yet performed.
These signals allow to fix the initial time of the event, at least at 14:46 but there is no certainty of when the large part of the bulk of the material flowed into the water; the video sequence, obtained from the surveillance camera in the Sciara del Fuoco, courtesy of Experimental Gephysics Laboratory of Universita of Florence, seems to confirm that the initial time is 14:46 or some seconds later.
Reference #13744:
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
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 | 0.2 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Punta del Corvo, Stromboli Island | Italy | 2 | 1.3 | Deep ocean gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Punta Labronzo, Stromboli Island | Italy | 3 | 0.52 | Deep ocean gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Strombolicchio, Stromboli Island | Italy | 5 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) |
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 5913.