2009 17 years ago Historical Events September 29

The 8.1 Mw Samoa earthquake results in a tsunami that kills over 189 and injures hundreds.

On September 29, in the year 2009, The 8.1 Mw Samoa earthquake results in a tsunami that kills over 189 and injures hundreds. This event is recorded as a Historical Events event in the history of September 29, one of 471 recorded events on this date across all of history.

The 2009 Samoa earthquake and tsunami took place on 29 September 2009 in the southern Pacific Ocean adjacent to the Tonga–Kermadec subduction zone. The submarine earthquake occurred in an extensional environment and had a moment magnitude of 8.1 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VI (Strong). It was the largest earthquake of 2009. The earthquake initiated with a normal-faulting event with a magnitude of 8.1. Within two minutes of the earthquake rupture, two large magnitude 7.8 earthquakes occurred on the subduction zone interface. The two magnitude 7.8 earthquakes had a combined magnitude equivalent to 8.0. The event can be considered a doublet earthquake.

Key Facts

  • This event took place on September 29, 2009 (AD era).
  • It is categorised as a Historical Events event in recorded history.
  • Referenced in 1 Wikipedia article.
  • The event is associated with a specific geographical location (see map below).
  • Wikipedia source last updated on 16 August 2026.

On This Date in History 471

Type Year Date Event
Notable Deaths 2025 Sep 29 Patrick Murray, British actor (born 1956)
Notable Deaths 2025 Sep 29 Alan McDonald, Scottish Church Minister (born 1951)
Notable Deaths 2024 Sep 29 Ozzie Virgil Sr., Dominican baseball player and coach (born 1932)
Notable Deaths 2022 Sep 29 Kathleen Booth, British computer scientist and mathematician (born 1922)
Notable Deaths 2022 Sep 29 Akissi Kouamé, Ivorian army officer (born 1955)
Notable Deaths 2020 Sep 29 Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Kuwaiti Emir (born 1929)
Notable Deaths 2020 Sep 29 Helen Reddy, Australian-American singer, actress, and activist (born 1941)
Historical Events 2019 Sep 29 Violence and low turnout mar the 2019 Afghan presidential election.
Notable Deaths 2019 Sep 29 Martin Bernheimer, German-American music critic (born 1936)
Notable Deaths 2018 Sep 29 Otis Rush, American blues guitarist and singer (born 1934)
Notable Deaths 2017 Sep 29 Tom Alter, Indian actor (born 1950)
Historical Events 2016 Sep 29 Eleven days after the Uri attack, the Indian Army conducts "surgical strikes" against suspected militants in…
Notable Deaths 2016 Sep 29 Miriam Defensor Santiago, Filipina politician (born 1945)
Notable Deaths 2015 Sep 29 Nawwaf bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabian prince (born 1932)
Notable Deaths 2015 Sep 29 Hellmuth Karasek, Czech-German journalist, author, and critic (born 1934)
Notable Deaths 2015 Sep 29 Phil Woods, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (born 1931)
Notable Deaths 2014 Sep 29 Mary Cadogan, English author (born 1928)
Notable Deaths 2014 Sep 29 John Ritchie, New Zealand composer and educator (born 1921)
Historical Events 2013 Sep 29 Over 42 people are killed by members of Boko Haram at the College of Agriculture in Nigeria.
Notable Deaths 2013 Sep 29 Harold Agnew, American physicist and engineer (born 1921)
Notable Deaths 2013 Sep 29 S. N. Goenka, Indian teacher of Vipassanā meditation (born 1924)
Notable Deaths 2013 Sep 29 Marcella Hazan, Italian cooking writer (born 1924)
Notable Deaths 2012 Sep 29 Neil Smith, Scottish geographer and academic (born 1954)
Notable Deaths 2012 Sep 29 Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, American publisher (born 1926)
Notable Deaths 2012 Sep 29 Malcolm Wicks, English academic and politician (born 1947)
Historical Events 2011 Sep 29 The special court in India convicted all 269 accused officials for atrocity on Dalits and 17 for rape in the Vachathi…
Notable Deaths 2011 Sep 29 Sylvia Robinson, American singer-songwriter and producer (born 1936)
Notable Deaths 2010 Sep 29 Tony Curtis, American actor (born 1925)
Notable Deaths 2010 Sep 29 Greg Giraldo, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (born 1965)
Historical Events 2008 Sep 29 The stock market crashes with the Dow Jones dropping a then record 778 points after the United States House of…
Notable Deaths 2008 Sep 29 Hayden Carruth, American poet and critic (born 1921)
Historical Events 2007 Sep 29 Calder Hall, the world's first commercial nuclear power station, is demolished in a controlled explosion.
Notable Deaths 2007 Sep 29 Lois Maxwell, Canadian actress (born 1927)
Notable Deaths 2007 Sep 29 Katsuko Saruhashi, Japanese geochemist (born 1920)
Historical Events 2006 Sep 29 A Boeing 737 and an Embraer 600 collide in mid-air, killing 154 people and triggering a Brazilian aviation crisis.
Notable Deaths 2006 Sep 29 Walter Hadlee, New Zealand cricketer and manager (born 1915)
Notable Deaths 2006 Sep 29 Michael A. Monsoor, American sailor, Medal of Honor recipient (born 1981)
Notable Deaths 2006 Sep 29 Louis-Albert Vachon, Canadian cardinal (born 1912)
Selected Events 2006 Sep 29 Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907 collided in mid-air with an Embraer Legacy business jet near Peixoto de Azevedo,…
Historical Events 2005 Sep 29 John Roberts is confirmed as Chief Justice of the United States.
Notable Deaths 2005 Sep 29 Patrick Caulfield, English painter and academic (born 1936)
Notable Deaths 2005 Sep 29 Austin Leslie, American chef and author (born 1934)
Selected Events 2005 Sep 29 John Roberts became the 17th Chief Justice of the United States; he would be the first Chief Justice to serve for…
Historical Events 2004 Sep 29 The asteroid 4179 Toutatis passes within four lunar distances of Earth.
Historical Events 2004 Sep 29 Burt Rutan's Ansari SpaceShipOne performs a successful spaceflight, the first of two required to win the Ansari X Prize.
Notable Deaths 2004 Sep 29 Richard Sainct, French motorcycle racer (born 1970)
Notable Deaths 2004 Sep 29 Patrick Wormald, English historian (born 1947)
Selected Events 2004 Sep 29 Archaeologists and volunteers began excavation of the remains of Fort Tanjong Katong in Singapore.
Notable Deaths 2001 Sep 29 Mabel Fairbanks, American figure skater and coach (born 1915)
Notable Deaths 2001 Sep 29 Nguyễn Văn Thiệu, South Vietnamese military officer and politician, 2nd President of South Vietnam (born 1923)

This article draws on content from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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