Most Damaging Tsunamis

Lisbon Earthquake

Nov 1, 1755

This earthquake that took place in Portugal had a magnitude of 9. The results of this disaster killed 20,000 people from the fire, tsunami, and earthquake acting together. The waves of the tsunami reached up to 7 meter (23 ft) after crossing the Atlantic Ocean.

Krakatoa Eruption

Aug 27, 1883

The violent explosion of the Krakatoa volcano in the Sundra Straight between Java and Sumatra caused this tsunami. The explosion was so massive it caused part of the volcano to collapse into the ocean. The waves reached up to 35 meters (115 ft) and destroyed 165 villages. 36,000 people were killed in this disaster with a magnitude of 6.

Aleutian Earthquake

Apr 1, 1946

This Alaskan earthquake had a magnitude of 8.1 and caused a tsunami to crash into the Hawaiian Islands. 160 people were killed. Some of the waves reached as high as a 13 story building, others 2 to 3 stories high. Over 26 million dollars in damage occurred.

Great Chilean Earthquake

May 22, 1960

This earthquake had a magnitude of 9.5 and triggered a tsunami that traveled 15 hours across the Pacific. 61 people were killed in Hawaii.

Good Friday Earthquake

Mar 27, 1964

This earthquake took place in Alaska with a magnitude of 9.2. 130 people were killed in Alaska and California. The earthquake lasted for 4.5 minutes and was caused by the Pacific Plate lurching under the North American Plate.

Hokkaido Earthquake

Jul 12, 1993

This earthquake took place in the sea of Japan with a magnitude of 7.8. 130 people were killed on Okushiri Island, Japan, more than half the deaths due to the tsunami. 558 houses were destroyed with 600 million dollars in property damage.

Papua New Guinea Quake

Jul 17, 1998

This quake was a 7.1 magnitude which triggered a submarine landslide the produced a tsunami. More than 2,100 people were killed. It occurred on the boundary of the Australia and Pacific plates. This event helped raise awareness to scientists that smaller earthquakes have the possibility of causing a tsunami if a landslide occurs. It is now recognized as a very dangerous event.

Sumatra Earthquake

Dec 26, 2004

This earthquake has a magnitude of 9.1. 230,000 people were killed. This occurred in Indonesia. The mega thrust Earthquake was caused when the Indian plate subducted by the Burma Plate.

Samoa Earthquake

Sep 29, 2009

This earthquake had a magnitude of 8.1 and killed 200 people. The highest waves were 14 meters (46ft) and had a three inch rise in sea levels near the epicenter.

Chile Earthquake

Sep 29, 2010

This had a magnitude of 8.1 and killed 200 people. The aftershock occurred around 8:30 shaking buildings. More than 1.5 million people were displaced due to the quake.

Tohoku Earthquake

Mar 11, 2011

This earthquake happened in Japan with a 9.1 magnitude. Over 20,000 people were killed. It lasted 6 minutes and consisted of damage from the tsunami wave, flooding, infrastructure damage, and nuclear incidents like radiation releases.