1888 Ritter Island eruption and tsunami

On the morning of 13 March 1888 a section of Ritter Island, a small volcanic island off the coast of New Guinea, collapsed into the sea in a sector collapse. The waves raised by the collapse struck nearby and distant islands including New Guinea, Umboi, Sakar and New Britain.

Date and time (UTC)

1888-03-13

Highest recorded water height (m)

15

Cause, as the catalogue records it

volcano and landslide

NCEI event page

www.ngdc.noaa.gov/hazel/view/hazards/tsunami/event-more-info/1175

Category: Disasters & Incidents

Tags: volcano, landslide, sector collapse, new guinea, ritter island

Coordinates: -5.52, 148.121

Part of Tsunamis with waves of 15 metres or more from 1800 to 1899

Related collections

• Mass shootings in the United States that killed 13 or more people since 1949 — United States · 18 locations
• Industrial and accidental explosions that killed 200 or more people since 1900 — Worldwide · 13 locations
• Peacetime shipwrecks that killed 500 or more people since 1900 — Worldwide · 10 locations
• Western Pacific typhoons of category 4 and above in the 2010 to 2013 seasons — Western North Pacific · 18 locations
• Western Pacific typhoons of category 4 and above in the 2016 season — Western North Pacific · 8 locations
• Western Pacific typhoons of category 4 and above in the 2014 and 2015 seasons — Western North Pacific · 16 locations