Tsunamis

Enshunada Sea, Japan

Sep 20, 1498

An earthquake, estimated to have been magnitude 8.3, caused tsunami waves along the coasts of Kii, Mikawa, Surugu, Izu and Sagami. Homes were flooding and being swept away throughout the region, with a total of at least 31,000 people killed.

Ise Bay, Japan

Jan 18, 1586

The earthquake that caused the Ise Bay tsunami is estimated of magnitude 8.2. The waves rose to a height of 6m. The Ise Bay tsunamis caused more than 8000 deaths.

Nankaido, Japan

Oct 28, 1707

A magnitude 8.4 earthquake caused sea waves as high as 25 m to go into the Pacific coasts of Kyushyu, Shikoku and Honshin. A total of nearly 30,000 buildings were damaged and about 30,000 people were killed.

Lisbon, Portugal

Nov 1, 1755

A magnitude 8.5 earthquake caused a series of three huge waves to hit towns along the west coast of Portugal and southern Spain. The earthquake and tsunami killed 60,000 people in the Portugal, Morocco and Spain.

Ryuku Islands, Japan

Apr 24, 1771

A magnitude 7.4 earthquake is believed to have caused a tsunami that damaged a large number of islands in the region, the most serious damage happened to Ishigaki and Miyako Islands. The tsunami destroyed a total of 3,137 homes, killing nearly 12,000 people in total.

Northern Chile

Aug 13, 1868

This tsunami event was caused by a series of two significant earthquakes, estimated at a magnitude of 8.5, off the coast of Arica, Peru. Waves reported to be up to 21 m high, which lasted between two and three days.

Krakatau, Indonesia

Aug 27, 1883

This tsunami is actually linked to the explosion of the Krakatau caldera volcano. Multiple waves as high as 37 m were created by the violent eruptions and demolished the towns of Anjer and Merak. Around 40,000 people in total were killed.

Sanriku, Japan

Jun 15, 1896

This tsunami happened after an estimated magnitude 7.6 earthquake occurred off the coast of Sanriku, Japan. The tsunami was reported to have reached a height of 38.2 m, causing more than 11,000 damaged homes and killing some 22,000 people.

Alaskan Earthquake

Mar 27, 1964

The magnitude 9.2 earthquake was the most powerful recorded in North American history, and the second most powerful recorded in world history. Tsunami waves were 67 m in height.

Sumatra, Indonesia

Dec 26, 2004

A 9.1 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Sumatra hit the area. It was estimated to occur at a depth of 30 km. The tsunami was as tall as 50 m, reaching 5 km inland near Meubolah, Sumatra. This tsunami is also the most widely recorded. 230,000 people reported dead.

North Pacific Coast, Japan

Mar 11, 2011

A tsunami travelling 800km per hour with 10m-high waves swept over the east coast of Japan, killing more than 18,000 people. The tsunami was created by an 9.0 magnitude earthquake that reached 24.4km, making it the fourth-largest earthquake ever recorded.