Most Damaging Tsunamis

Lisbon Earthquake (portugal)

Nov 1, 1755

magnitude: 7.7 M
death toll: 60,000
interesting fact(s): violent shaking demolished large public buildings and about 12,000 dwellings.

Krakatoa Eruption ( java/ sumatra)

Sep 26, 1883

magnitude: 6.0 M
death toll: 36,000
interesting fact(s): over 70% of the island of Krakatoa and its surrounding archipelago were destroyed as it collapsed into a caldera.

Aleutian Earthquake (alaska)

Apr 1, 1946

magnitude: 8.6 M
death toll: between 165 - 173
interesting fact(s): A tsunami warning system did not exist in 1946 and no one had any warning of the approaching dangerous waves. In response to this event the United States government set up its first tsunami warning operation at the Honolulu Magnetic and Seismic Observatory in 1948.

Great Chilean Earthquake (chile)

May 23, 1960

magnitude: 9.5 M
death toll: between 1,000 - 1,600
interesting fact(s): Scientists estimate that this earthquake shifted Earth's axis and shortened the length of a day by 1.26 microseconds.

Good Friday Earthquake (alaska)

Mar 27, 1964

magnitude: 9.2 M
death toll: 131
interesting fact(s): The shaking lasted for more than four minutes, launching several deadly tsunamis and triggering killer landslides. The earthquake also transformed geology, because it revealed that oceanic plates are shoved under continents.

Hokkaido Earthquake (japan)

Jul 12, 1993

magnitude: 7.7
death toll: 230
interesting fact(s): It took between two to seven minutes after the earthquake for the first of the destructive tsunami waves to strike the coastlines of Okushiri Island.

Papua New Guinea Earthquake (papua new guinea)

Jul 17, 1998

magnitude: 7.0 M
death toll: 2,100+
interesting fact(s): three catastrophic tsunami waves followed the earthquake and affected the entire villages of Sissano, Warapu, Arop, and Malomo on the north coast of Papua New Guinea.

Sumatra Earthquake (indonesia)

Dec 26, 2004

magnitude: 9.2 M
death toll: 227,898
interesting fact(s): the tsunami was caused by an earthquake that is thought to have had the energy of 23,000 Hiroshima-type atomic bombs.

Samoa Earthquake (samoan islands)

Sep 29, 2009

magnitude: 8.1 M
death toll: 190
interesting fact(s): The effects of the tsunami on Samoans was long-lasting. In total, 862 buildings were destroyed, including 11 schools. With 65% of the country’s income normally coming from tourism, millions of dollars was lost through large resorts being devastated. Other significant businesses like plantations were also lost.

Chile Earthquake (chile)

Feb 27, 2010

magnitude: 8.8 M
death toll: 525
interesting fact(s): This earthquake left about two million people homeless. This also caused substantial damage and loss of life both in that country and in distant Pacific coastal areas.

Tohoku Earthquake (japan)

Mar 11, 2011

magnitude: 9.0 M
death toll: 19,747
interesting fact(s): the most powerful earthquake recorded in Japan since 1900 and it is the fourth most powerful ever detected worldwide. People in Japan felt strong shaking for three to five minutes.

Sulawesi Earthquake (indonesia)

Sep 27, 2018

magnitude: 7.5 M
death toll: 4,340
interesting fact(s): the deadliest earthquake to strike the country since the 2006 Yogyakarta earthquake, as well as the deadliest earthquake worldwide in 2018, surpassing the previous earthquake that struck Lombok nearly 2 months earlier.