All times in UTC ·
Dashed edge = started before, or continues beyond, this day
Events on Saturday 16 March 1889 1
1889Apia cyclone wrecks German and American fleetsStorm defuses a naval standoff in SamoaA powerful cyclone struck Apia harbor in Samoa, destroying six German and American warships that had gathered amid a tense standoff for control of the islands. The shared disaster eased the naval confrontation and pushed the powers toward a negotiated settlement of the Samoan crisis.