Tsunami Timeline

Lisbon Earthquake (Portugal)

Nov 1, 1755

This earthquake killed an estimated 20,000 people. With a magnitude of 9, the Lisbon earthquake produced a tsunami thats waves soon crossed the Atlantic Ocean getting to heights of about 23 feet.

Krakatoa Eruption (Java/Sumatra)

Aug 26, 1883

This earthquake killed 36000 people. There is no recored magnitude for this specific earthquake. Although, Krakatoa made the loudest sound ever recorded on the planet. The sound was even heard in Central Australia, nearly 3000 miles away.

Aleutian Earthquake (Alaska)

Apr 1, 1946

This earthquake killed about 160 people. With a magnitude of 8., the earthquake quickly created a fast moving tsunami. Waves traveled across the ocean and reached Hawaii 4.5 hours after the earthquake.

Great Chilean Earthquake (Chile)

May 23, 1960

This earthquake with a magnitude of 9.5 unexpectedly only killed 61 people. The earthquake was followed by three earthquakes known as the 1960 Concepcion Earthquakes.

Good Friday Earthquake (Alaska)

Mar 27, 1964

This earthquake had a magnitude of 9.2 killing nearly 130 people. Most were not killed by the earthquake induced tsunami, but by the tsunamis triggered by underwater landslides.

Hokkaido Earthquake (Japan)

Jul 12, 1993

This earthquake killed nearly 120 people with a magnitude of 7.8. The first shock lasted nearly 20 seconds, while the last one lasted 35 seconds.

Papua New Guinea Quake (Papua New Guinea)

Jul 17, 1998

This earthquake killed nearly 2100 people with a magnitude of 7.1. This earthquake raised awareness among scientists that small earthquakes tend to trigger larger tsunamis that create underwater landslides.

Sumatra Earthquake (Indonesia)

Dec 26, 2004

This earthquake had a magnitude of 9.1 and killed 230,000 people. The tectonic plates had been pushing against each other and building up pressure for thousands of years.

Samoa Earthquake (Samoan Island)

Sep 29, 2009

This earthquaked killed nearly 200 people with its magnitude of 8.1. A tsunami was then caused by the three earthquakes that occurred within minutes of each other.

Chile Earthquake (Chile)

Feb 27, 2010

This earthquake had a magnitude of 8.8, killing nearly 700 people. The stretch of the fault that separates the South America Plate and the Nazca Plate was felt from as far away as Brazil.

Tohoku Earthquake (Japan)

Mar 11, 2011

This earthquake killed nearly 20000 people with its magnitude of 9.1. The damage from this disaster was estimated to be about 199 billion dollars in repairs.

Sulawesi Earthquake (Indonesia)

Sep 27, 2018

This earthquake had a magnitude of 7.5 killing about 2000 people. About 65000 houses were damaged or destroyed from the disaster. This left 330,000 people to be left homeless without adequit shelter.