List of tsunamis
This article lists notable tsunamis, which are sorted by the date and location that the tsunami occurred.
Because of seismic and volcanic activity associated with tectonic plate boundaries along the Pacific Ring of Fire, tsunamis occur most frequently in the Pacific Ocean, but are a worldwide natural phenomenon. They are possible wherever large bodies of water are found, including inland lakes, where they can be caused by landslides and glacier calving. Very small tsunamis, non-destructive and undetectable without specialized equipment, occur frequently as a result of minor earthquakes and other events.
Around 1600 BC, a tsunami caused by the eruption of Thira devastated the Minoan civilization on Crete and related cultures in the Cyclades, as well as in areas on the Greek mainland facing the eruption, such as the Argolid.
The oldest recorded tsunami occurred in 479 BC. It destroyed a Persian army that was attacking the town of Potidaea in Greece.
As early as 426 BC, the Greek historian Thucydides inquired in his book History of the Peloponnesian War about the causes of tsunamis. He argued that such events could only be explained as a consequence of ocean earthquakes, and could see no other possible causes.
Prehistoric
| Date | Location | Main Article | Primary Cause | Description |
| ≈1.4 Ma | Molokai, Hawaii | East Molokai Volcano | Landslide | A third of the East Molokai Volcano collapsed into the Pacific Ocean, generating a tsunami with an estimated local height of. The wave traveled as far as California and Mexico. |
| ≈7000–6000 BC | Lisbon, Portugal | Unknown | A series of giant boulders and cobbles have been found 14 m above mean sea level near Guincho Beach. | |
| ≈6225–6170 BC | Norwegian Sea | Storegga Slide | Landslide | The Storegga Slide, 100 km north-west of the Møre coast in the Norwegian Sea, caused a large tsunami in the North Atlantic Ocean. The collapse involved ~290 km of coastal shelf, and a total volume of 3,500 km3 of debris. Based on carbon dating of plant material from sediment deposited by the tsunami, the latest incident occurred around 6225–6170 BC. In Scotland, traces of the tsunami have been found in sediment from Montrose Basin, the Firth of Forth, up to 80 km inland and 4 metres above current normal tide levels. |
| 5,500 BP | Northern Isles | Garth tsunami | Tsunami of unknown origin | The tsunami may be responsible for contemporaneous mass burials. |
| ≈1600 BC | Santorini, Greece | Minoan eruption | Volcanic eruption | The volcanic eruption on Santorini, Greece is assumed to have caused severe damage to cities around it, most notably the Minoan civilization on Crete. A tsunami is assumed to be the factor that caused the most damage. |
Before 1001 CE">common era">CE
| Date | Location | Main Article | Primary Cause | Description |
| 479 BC | Potidaea, Greece | 479 BC Potidaea tsunami | The earliest recorded tsunami in history. During the Persian siege of the sea town Potidaea, Greece, Herodotus reports how Persian attackers who tried to exploit an unusual retreat of the water were suddenly surprised by "a great flood-tide, higher, as the people of the place say, than any one of the many that had been before". Herodotus attributes the cause of the sudden flood to the wrath of Poseidon. | |
| 426 BC | Malian Gulf, Greece | 426 BC Malian Gulf tsunami | In the summer of 426 BC, a tsunami hit the gulf between the northwest tip of Euboea and Lamia. The Greek historian Thucydides described how the tsunami and a series of earthquakes affected the Peloponnesian War and, for the first time, associated earthquakes with waves in terms of cause and effect. | |
| 373 BC | Helike, Greece | Earthquake | An earthquake and a tsunami destroyed the prosperous Greek city of Helike, 2 km from the sea. The fate of the city, which remained permanently submerged, was often commented upon by ancient writers and may have inspired the contemporary Plato to the myth of Atlantis. | |
| 60 BC | Portugal and Galicia | Earthquake | An earthquake of intensity IX and an estimated magnitude of 6.7 caused a tsunami along the coasts of Portugal and Galicia. Little more is known due to the scarcity of records from the Roman possession of the Iberian Peninsula. | |
| 79 CE | Gulf of Naples, Italy | Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 | Volcanic eruption | A smaller tsunami was witnessed in the Bay of Naples by Pliny the Younger during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. |
| 115 CE | Caesarea, Israel | Earthquake | Underwater geoarchaeological excavations on the shallow shelf at Caesarea, Israel, documented a tsunami that struck the ancient harbor. Talmudic sources record a tsunami on 13 December 115, impacting Caesarea and Yavne. The tsunami was probably triggered by an earthquake that destroyed Antioch, and was generated somewhere on the Cyprian Arc fault system. | |
| 262 CE | Southwest Anatolia | 262 Southwest Anatolia earthquake | Earthquake | Many cities were flooded by the sea, with the cities of Roman Asia reporting the worst tsunami damage. In many places, fissures appeared in the earth and filled with water; in others, towns were overwhelmed by the sea. |
| 365 CE | Alexandria, Southern and Eastern Mediterranean | 365 Crete earthquake | Earthquake | On the morning of 21 July 365, an earthquake caused a tsunami more than high, devastating Alexandria and the eastern and southern shores of the Mediterranean, killing many thousands, and hurling ships nearly two miles inland. This tsunami also devastated many large cities in what is now Libya and Tunisia. The anniversary of the disaster was still commemorated annually at the end of the 6th century in Alexandria as a "day of horror." Researchers at the University of Cambridge recently carbon dated corals on the coast of Crete which were lifted 10 metres and clear of the water during the earthquake, indicating the tsunami was generated by an earthquake in a steep fault in the Hellenic Trench. Scientists estimate that such an uplift is only likely to occur once in 5,000 years; however, the other segments of the fault could slip on a similar scale every 800 years or so. |
| 551 CE | Lebanese Coast | 551 Beirut earthquake | Earthquake | The 9 July 551 CE earthquake was one of the largest seismic events in and around Lebanon during the Byzantine period. The earthquake was associated with a tsunami along the Lebanese coast and a local landslide near Al-Batron. A large fire in Beirut also continued for almost two months. |
| 684 CE | Nankai, Japan | 684 Hakuho earthquake, Nankai earthquake | Earthquake | The first recorded tsunami in Japan, it hit on 29 November 684 on the shore of the Kii, Shikoku, and Awaji region. The earthquake, estimated at magnitude 8.4, was followed by a huge tsunami, but no estimates exist for the number of deaths. |
| 869 CE | Sanriku, Japan | 869 Jogan Sanriku earthquake | Earthquake | The Sanriku region was struck by a major tsunami that caused flooding extending 4 km inland from the coast. The town of Tagajō was destroyed, with an estimated 1,000 casualties. |
| 887 CE | Nankai, Japan | 887 Ninna Nankai earthquake | Earthquake | On 26 August of the Ninna era, there was a strong shock in the Kyoto region, causing great destruction. A tsunami flooded the coastal region, and some people died. The coast of Settsu Province suffered especially heavily, and the tsunami was also observed on the coast of the Sea of Hyūga. |
1000–1700 CE
| Date | Location | Main Article | Primary Cause | Description |
| 1293 | Kamakura, Japan | 1293 Kamakura earthquake | Earthquake | A magnitude 7.1 quake and tsunami hit Kamakura, then Japan's de facto capital, killing 23,000 after resulting fires. |
| 1303 | Eastern Mediterranean | 1303 Crete earthquake | Earthquake | A team from Southern Cross University in Lismore, New South Wales, Australia, found evidence of five tsunamis that hit Greece over the past 2000 years. "Most were small and local, but in 1303 a larger one hit Crete, Rhodes, Alexandria and Acre in Israel." |
| 1361 | Nankai, Japan | 1361 Shōhei Nankai earthquake | Earthquake | On 3 August 1361, during the Shōhei era, an 8.4 quake hit Nankaidō, followed by a tsunami. A total of 660 deaths were reported. The earthquake shook Awa, Settsu, Kii, Yamato and Awaji Provinces. A tsunami struck Awa and Tosa Provinces, in Kii Strait and in Osaka Bay. The Hot spring of Yunomine, Kii stopped. The port of Yuki, Awa was destroyed, and more than 1,700 houses were washed away. |
| 1420 | Caldera, Chile | 1420 Caldera earthquake | Earthquake | On 1 September 1420, an enormous earthquake shook what is now Chile's Atacama Region. Landslides occurred along the coast and tsunamis affected not only Chile but also Hawaii and Japan. |
| 1498 | Nankai, Japan | 1498 Nankai earthquake | Earthquake | On 20 September 1498, during the Meiō era, a 7.5 earthquake hit. The ports in Kii Province were damaged by a tsunami several meters high. 30–40 thousand deaths estimated. The building around the great Buddha of Kamakura was swept away by the tsunami. |
| 1531 | Lisbon, Portugal | 1531 Lisbon earthquake | Earthquake | The earthquake of 26 January was accompanied by a tsunami in the Tagus River that destroyed ships in Lisbon harbour |
| 1541 | Nueva Cadiz, Venezuela | Earthquake | In 1528, Cristóbal Guerra founded Nueva Cádiz on the island of Cubagua, the first Spanish settlement in Venezuela. Nueva Cádiz, with a population of 1000–1500, may have been destroyed in an earthquake followed by tsunami in 1541—it also could have been a major hurricane. The ruins were declared a National Monument of Venezuela in 1979. | |
| 1605 | Nankai, Japan | 1605 Nankai earthquake | Earthquake | On 3 February 1605, in the Keichō era, a magnitude 8.1 quake and tsunami hit Japan. A tsunami with a maximum known height of 30 m was observed from the Bōsō Peninsula to the eastern part of Kyushu Island. The eastern part of the Bōsō Peninsula, Edo Bay, Sagami and Tōtōmi Provinces, and the southeastern coast of Tosa Province suffered particularly heavily. 700 houses in Hiro, Kii were washed away, and 3,600 people drowned in the area of Shishikui, Awa. Wave heights reached 5–6 meters at Kannoura, Tosa and 8–10 m at Sakihama, Tosa. 350 drowned at Kannoura and 60 at Sakihama. In total more than 5,000 drowned. |
| 1607 | Bristol Channel, Great Britain | Bristol Channel floods, 1607 | Disputed | On 30 January 1607, at least 2,000 drowned, while houses and villages were swept away and an area of ~ was inundated. Until the 1990s, it was undisputed that flooding was caused by a storm surge aggravated by other factors, but recent research indicates a tsunami. The postulated cause is a submarine earthquake off the Irish coast. |
| 1677 | Bōsō Peninsula, Japan | 1677 Bōsō earthquake | Earthquake | On 4 November 1677, an earthquake was felt with low intensity in the area around the Bōsō Peninsula, but was followed a major tsunami, killing an estimate 569 people. |
| 1693 | Sicily | 1693 Sicily earthquake | Earthquake | A large foreshock on 9 January was followed on 11 January by the most powerful earthquake in Italian history. The ensuing tsunami devastated the Ionian Sea coast and the Straits of Messina. It remains unclear whether the tsunami was directly caused by the earthquake or by a large underwater landslide triggered by the event. |
1700s
| Date | Location | Main Article | Primary Cause | Description |
| 1700 | Pacific Northwest, U.S. and Canada | 1700 Cascadia earthquake | Earthquake | On 26 January 1700, the Cascadia earthquake, estimated 9, ruptured the Cascadia subduction zone from Vancouver Island to California, and caused a massive tsunami recorded in Japan and by the oral traditions of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest. The wave caught the Japanese off-guard, not knowing its origin, and was explained in the book, The Orphan Tsunami. |
| 1707 | Nankai, Japan | 1707 Hōei earthquake | Earthquake | On 28 October 1707, during the Hōei era, a magnitude 8.4 earthquake and tsunami up to 10 meters in height struck Tosa Province. More than 29,000 houses were destroyed, causing ~30,000 deaths. In Tosa, 11,170 houses were washed away, and 18,441 people drowned. About 700 drowned and 603 houses were washed away in Osaka. Hot springs at Yunomine, Kii, Sanji, Ryujin, Kii Kanayana and Dōgo, Iyo stopped flowing. |
| 1731 | Storfjorden, Norway | Storfjorden | Landslide | On 8 January 1731, a landslide into the Storfjorden opposite Stranda triggered a tsunami up to in height that killed 17 people. |
| 1741 | Western Oshima, Japan | Volcano | On 29 August 1741, the western side of Oshima Peninsula, Ezo was hit by a tsunami caused by eruption of the volcano on Ōshima island. The tsunami itself is thought to have resulted from a landslide, partly submarine, triggered by the eruption. 1,467 people were killed on Ezo. | |
| 1755 | Lisbon, Portugal | 1755 Lisbon earthquake | Earthquake | Tens of thousands of Portuguese people who survived the Great Lisbon earthquake on 1 November 1755 were killed by a tsunami 40 minutes later. Many fled to the waterfront, an area safe from fires and debris during aftershocks. These people observed the sea receding, revealing a sea floor littered with lost cargo and shipwrecks. The tsunami then struck with a maximum height of, traveling far inland. The earthquake, tsunami, and fires killed 40,000 to 50,000 people. Historical records of early navigators such as Vasco da Gama were lost, and among the buildings destroyed were most examples of Portugal's Manueline architecture. Europeans of the 18th century struggled to understand the disaster within religious and rational belief systems, and philosophers of the Enlightenment, notably Voltaire, wrote about the event. The philosophical concept of the sublime, as described by Immanuel Kant took inspiration from attempts to comprehend the enormity of the Lisbon quake and tsunami. The tsunami took just over 4 hours to travel over to Cornwall in the United Kingdom. An account by Arnold Boscowitz claimed "great loss of life." It also hit Galway, Ireland, and caused serious damage to the Spanish Arch section of the city wall. |
| 1756 | Langfjorden, Norway | Langfjorden | Landslide | On 22 February 1756, a landslide into the Langfjorden generated three megatsunamis in the Langfjorden and the Eresfjorden with heights of. The waves killed 32 people and destroyed 168 buildings, 196 boats, large amounts of forest, and roads and boat landings. |
| 1771 | Yaeyama Islands, Ryūkyū | 1771 Great Yaeyama Tsunami | Earthquake | An undersea earthquake of magnitude ~7.4 occurred near Yaeyama Islands in the former Ryūkyū Kingdom. Run-up estimates on Ishigaki Island range from 30 to 85.4 meters. The tsunami was followed by malaria epidemics and crop failures. It took 148 years for the population to return to pre-tsunami levels. |
| 1781 | Pingtung, Taiwan | In April or May 1781, according to Records of Taiwan County, in Jiadong, Pingtung County, a ten-foot wave engulfed the town. Fish and shrimp thrashed wildly on the shore and nearby fishing villages were wiped out. However, no earthquake was reported. A different source claims a 30-meter wave with also struck Tainan. One possibility is a misrecording of date, corresponding with the above Great Yaeyama event. | ||
| 1783 | Calabria, Italy | 1783 Calabrian earthquakes | Earthquake | The earthquake was the second of a sequence of five shocks that struck Calabria. The citizens of Scilla spent the night following the first earthquake on the beach, where they were swept away by the tsunami, causing 1,500 deaths. The tsunami was caused by the collapse of Monte Paci into the sea, near the town. Estimated deaths from earthquake and tsunami is 32,000–50,000. |
| 1792 | Kyūshū, Japan | 1792 Unzen earthquake and tsunami | Volcanic processes | Tsunamis were the main cause of death for Japan's worst-ever volcanic disaster, an eruption of Mount Unzen, Hizen Province, Kyushu, Japan. Toward the end of 1791 a series of earthquakes on the west flank of Mount Unzen moved towards Fugen-dake, one of Mount Unzen's peaks. In February 1792, Fugen-dake erupted, initiating two-months of lava flows. Earthquakes continued, shifting nearer to the city of Shimabara. On the night of 21 May, two large earthquakes preceded a collapse of the east flank of Mount Unzen's Mayuyama dome. An avalanche swept through Shimabara and into Ariake Bay, triggering a tsunami. The tsunami struck Higo Province across Ariake Bay before bouncing back. Out of an estimated 15,000 fatalities, ~5,000 are thought to have been killed by the landslide, ~5,000 by the tsunami in Higo Province, and ~5,000 by the tsunami returning to Shimabara. The waves reached a height of, making this a small megatsunami. |
| 1797 | Sumatra, Indonesia | 1797 Sumatra earthquake | Earthquake | On 10 February 1797, a massive earthquake estimated to have been approximately 8.4 on the moment magnitude scale, struck Sumatra in Indonesia. Many fatalities resulted although it is not known how many. |
1800s
1900–1950
1950–2000
| Date | Location | Main Article | Primary Cause | Description |
| 1952 | Severo-Kurilsk, Kuril Islands, USSR | 1952 Severo-Kurilsk earthquake | Earthquake | 5 November 1952 tsunami, triggered by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake, killed 2,336 on the Kuril Islands, USSR. |
| 1956 | Amorgos, Greece | Earthquake | Fifty-three deaths occurred during the largest 20th-century earthquake in Greece. Santorini was damaged, and a localised tsunami affected the Cyclades and Dodecanese island groups. Maximum runup of ) was observed on the southern coast of Amorgos. | |
| 1958 | Lituya Bay, Alaska, U.S. | 1958 Lituya Bay, Alaska earthquake and megatsunami | Earthquake-triggered landslide | The night of 9 July 1958 an earthquake on the Fairweather Fault in Alaska loosened ~40 million cubic yards of rock 3000 feet above the northeastern shore of Lituya Bay. The impact in the waters of Gilbert Inlet generated a local tsunami that crashed against the southwest shoreline and swept over the spur separating Gilbert Inlet from the main Lituya Bay. The wave continued down Lituya Bay, over La Chaussee Spit and into the Gulf of Alaska. The force of the wave removed all trees and vegetation from as high as 1720 feet above sea level. This is the highest wave ever recorded. The scale of this wave was so much greater than ordinary tsunamis, it eventually led to the new category of megatsunamis. |
| 1960 | Valdivia, Chile, and Pacific Ocean | 1960 Valdivia earthquake or Great Chilean earthquake | Earthquake | The magnitude-9.5 earthquake of 22 May 1960, the largest earthquake ever recorded, generated one of the most destructive tsunamis of the 20th century. The tsunami spread across the Pacific Ocean, with waves measuring up to 25 meters high in places. The first tsunami wave struck at Hilo, Hawaii, approximately 14.8 hrs after it originated. The highest wave at Hilo Bay was measured at ~10.7 m. 61 lives were lost, allegedly due to people's failure to heed warning sirens. Almost 22 hours after the quake, waves up to 3 m above high tide hit the Sanriku coast of Japan, killing 142 people. Up to 6,000 people died in total worldwide due to the earthquake and tsunami. |
| 1963 | Vajont Dam, Monte Toc, Italy | Vajont Dam | Landslide | as seen from Longarone on 25 September 2012, showing the top 60–70 metres. The 200–250-metre megatsunami would have obscured virtually all of the sky in this picture. The Vajont Dam was completed in 1961 under Monte Toc, 100 km north of Venice, Italy. At 262 metres, it was one of the highest dams in the world. On 9 October 1963 a landslide of about 260 million cubic meters of forest, earth, and rock, fell into the reservoir at up to 110 km per hour. The resulting displacement of water caused 50 million cubic metres of water to overtop the dam in a 250-metre high megatsunami wave. The flooding destroyed the villages of Longarone, Pirago, Rivalta, Villanova and Faè, killing 1,450 people. Nearly 2,000 people perished in total. |
| 1964 | Niigata, Japan | 1964 Niigata earthquake | Earthquake | 28 people died, and entire apartment buildings were destroyed by liquefaction of the ground. The subsequent tsunami destroyed the port of Niigata. |
| 1964 | Alaska, U.S. and Pacific Ocean | 1964 Alaska earthquake | Earthquake | After the magnitude 9.2 Good Friday earthquake of 27 March 1964, tsunamis struck Alaska, British Columbia, California, and coastal Pacific Northwest towns, killing 121 people. The waves were up to tall, and killed 11 people as far away as Crescent City, California. |
| 1965 | Shemya Island, Alaska | 1965 Rat Islands earthquake | Earthquake | The 4 February 1965, Rat Islands earthquake generated a tsunami on Shemya Island. |
| 1969 | Portugal, Morocco | 1969 Portugal earthquake | Earthquake | A large undersea earthquake off the coast of Portugal generated a tsunami that affected both Portugal and Morocco. |
| 1976 | Moro Gulf, Mindanao, Philippines | 1976 Moro Gulf earthquake | Earthquake | On 16 August 1976 at 12:11 A.M., magnitude 7.9 earthquake hit the island of Mindanao, Philippines. The resultant tsunami devastated more than 700 km of coastline bordering Moro Gulf in the North Celebes Sea. Estimated casualties included 5,000 dead, 2,200 missing, 9,500 injured, and 93,500 people left homeless. Affected cities include Cotabato, Pagadian, and Zamboanga, and the provinces of Basilan, Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat, Sulu, and Zamboanga del Sur. |
| 1979 | Tumaco, Colombia | 1979 Tumaco earthquake | Earthquake | A magnitude 8.1 earthquake occurred on 12 December 1979 at 7:59:4.3 UTC along the Pacific coast of Colombia and Ecuador. The earthquake and resulting tsunami destroyed at least six fishing villages and killed hundreds of people in the Colombian Department of Nariño. The earthquake was felt in Bogotá, Cali, Popayán, Buenaventura, Guayaquil, Esmeraldas, and Quito. The tsunami caused huge destruction in the city of Tumaco, as well as in the towns of El Charco, San Juan, Mosquera, and Salahonda on the Pacific coast of Colombia. Casualties included 259 dead, 798 wounded and 95 missing or presumed dead. |
| 1980 | Spirit Lake, Washington, U.S. | Spirit Lake, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, Mount St. Helens | Volcanic eruption | On 18 May 1980, in the course of a major eruption of Mount St. Helens, the upper 460 m of the mountain failed, causing a major landslide. One lobe of the landslide surged onto the nearby Spirit Lake, creating a megatsunami 260 meters high. |
| 1983 | Sea of Japan | 1983 Sea of Japan earthquake | Earthquake | On 26 May 1983 at 11:59:57 local time, a magnitude-7.7 earthquake occurred in the Sea of Japan, about 100 km west of the coast of Noshiro in Akita Prefecture. Out of 107 fatalities, all but four were killed by the resulting tsunami, which struck communities along the coast, especially Aomori and Akita Prefectures and the Noto Peninsula. Footage of the tsunami hitting the fishing harbor of Wajima on Noto Peninsula was broadcast on TV. Waves exceeded 10 meters in some areas. Three of the fatalities were along the east coast of South Korea. The tsunami also hit Okushiri Island. |
| 1992 | Nicaragua | 1992 Nicaragua earthquake | Earthquake | A 7.2+ quake hit offshore in Nicaragua, sending a devastating tsunami into the Rivas department coast, killing some 116 people. The wave magnitude, 9.9 meters high, was unusually large given the size of the earthquake. |
| 1993 | Okushiri, Hokkaido, Japan | 1993 Hokkaido earthquake | Earthquake | A devastating tsunami wave struck Hokkaido in Japan as a result of a magnitude 7.8 offshore earthquake on 12 July 1993. Within minutes, the Japan Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami warning that was broadcast on NHK in English and Japanese. However, at Okushiri, a small island near the epicenter, some waves reaching 30 meters struck within two to five minutes of the quake. Despite being surrounded by tsunami barriers, Aonae, a village on a low-lying peninsula, was struck over the following hour by 13 waves over two meters high arriving from multiple directions, including waves that bounced back off Hokkaido. Of 250 people killed as a result of the quake, 197 were victims of the tsunami that hit Okushiri; the waves also caused deaths on Hokkaido. While many residents, remembering the 1983 tsunami, survived by evacuating on foot, many others underestimated how soon the waves would arrive and were killed as they attempted to evacuate by car. The highest wave of the tsunami was 31 meters high. |
| 1994 | Java earthquake | 1994 Java earthquake | Earthquake | Two hundred and fifty killed as a M7.8 earthquake and tsunami affected east Java and Bali on 3 June 1994. |
| 1998 | Papua New Guinea | 1998 Papua New Guinea earthquake | Earthquake | On 17 July 1998, a Papua New Guinea tsunami killed approximately 2,200 people. A 7.1-magnitude earthquake 24 km offshore was followed within 11 minutes by a tsunami about 15 metres tall. The tsunami was generated by an undersea landslide, which was triggered by the earthquake. The villages of Arop and Warapu were destroyed. |
| 1999 | Sea of Marmara | 1999 İzmit earthquake | Earthquake | The earthquake triggered a tsunami in the Sea of Marmara, with a maximum water height of 2.52 m. 150 people were killed when the town of Degirmendere was flooded and a further five were swept into the sea at Ulaşlı. |
2000s/2010s
| Date | Location | Main Article | Primary Cause | Description |
| 2004 | Indian Ocean | 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami | Earthquake | , Thailand The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake triggered a series of tsunamis on 26 December 2004, killing approximately 227,898 people, making it the deadliest tsunami and one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history. The earthquake was the third largest earthquake in recorded history. The initial surge was measured at a height of approximately, making it the largest earthquake-generated tsunami in recorded history. The tsunami killed people from the immediate vicinity of the quake in Indonesia, Thailand, and the north-west coast of Malaysia, to thousands of kilometres away in Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and as far away as Somalia, Kenya, and Tanzania. This trans-Indian Ocean tsunami is an example of a teletsunami, which travels vast distances across the open ocean, and an ocean-wide tsunami. It became known as the "Boxing Day Tsunami" because it struck on Boxing Day. Unlike in the Pacific Ocean, there was no organized alert service covering the Indian Ocean. This was in part due to the absence of major tsunami events since 1883. In light of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, UNESCO and other world bodies have called for an international tsunami monitoring system. |
| 2006 | South of Java Island | 2006 Pangandaran earthquake and tsunami | Earthquake | A 7.7 magnitude earthquake rocked the Indian Ocean seabed on 17 July 2006, 200 km south of Pangandaran, a beach famous to surfers for its perfect waves. This earthquake triggered tsunamis with heights that varied from 2 meters at Cilacap to 6 meters at Cimerak beach, where it swept away and flattened buildings as far as 400 metres away from the coastline. More than 800 people were reported missing or dead. |
| 2006 | Kuril Islands | 2006 Kuril Islands earthquake | Earthquake | On 15 November 2006, a magnitude 8.3 earthquake occurred off the coast near the Kuril Islands. In spite of the quake's large 8.3 magnitude, a relatively small tsunami was generated. This tsunami was recorded or observed in Japan and at distant locations throughout the Pacific. |
| 2007 | Solomon Islands | 2007 Solomon Islands earthquake | Earthquake | On 2 April 2007, a magnitude 8.1 earthquake struck about south of Ghizo Island in the western Solomon Islands at 7:39 a.m., resulting in a tsunami that was up to 12 m high. The wave, which struck the coast of Solomon Islands, triggered tsunami warnings and watches extending from Japan to New Zealand to Hawaii and eastern Australia. The tsunami killed 52 people and dozens were injured when waves inundated towns. A state of national emergency was declared for the Solomon Islands. On the island of Choiseul, a wall of water reported to be 9.1 m high swept almost 400 meters inland. The largest waves hit the northern tip of Simbo Island, where two villages, Tapurai and Riquru, were completely destroyed by a 12 m wave, killing 10 people. Officials estimate that the tsunami displaced more than 5000 residents throughout the archipelago. |
| 2007 | Chile | 2007 Aysén Fjord earthquake | Earthquake and landslide | On 21 April 2007, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake occurred in the Aysén Fjord. On the mountains around the fjord, the earthquake caused landslides that in turn created waves as high as six meters, which severely damaged some salmon aquaculture installations. The potable water systems of the cities of Puerto Chacabuco and Puerto Aisén were broken, forcing firefighters and the army to supply water. The electricity network of Puerto Chacabuco was also cut off. Ten people were reported dead or missing. |
| 2007 | British Columbia | Landslide | On 4 December 2007, a landslide entered Chehalis Lake in British Columbia, generating a large lake tsunami that destroyed campgrounds and vegetation many meters above the shoreline. | |
| 2009 | Samoa | 2009 Samoa earthquake and tsunami | Earthquake | A submarine earthquake took place in the Samoan Islands region at 06:48:11 local time on 29 September 2009. This magnitude 8.1 quake on the outer rise of the Kermadec-Tonga subduction zone was the largest earthquake of 2009. The subsequent tsunami caused substantial damage and loss of life in Samoa, American Samoa, and Tonga. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center recorded a rise in sea levels near the epicenter, and New Zealand scientists noted waves as high as on the Samoan coast. More than 189 people were killed, especially children, mostly in Samoa. Large waves with no major damage were reported on Fiji, the northern coast of New Zealand and Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. People on low-lying atolls of Tokelau moved to higher ground as a precaution. |
| 2010 | Chile | 2010 Chile earthquake | Earthquake | , O'Higgins Region, Chile On 27 February 2010, an 8.8 earthquake offshore of Chile caused a tsunami which caused serious damage and loss of life, it also caused minor effects in other Pacific nations. |
| 2010 | Sumatra | 2010 Mentawai earthquake and tsunami | Earthquake | On 25 October 2010, a 7.7 earthquake struck near South Pagai Island in Indonesia triggering a localized tsunami that killed at least 408 people. |
| 2011 | New Zealand | 2011 Christchurch earthquake | Earthquake-triggered ice fall | On 22 February 2011, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit the Canterbury region of the South Island, New Zealand. Some away from the earthquake's epicenter, around 30 million tonnes of ice tumbled off the Tasman Glacier into Tasman Lake, producing a series of 3.5 m high tsunami waves, which hit tourist boats in the lake. |
| 2011 | Pacific coast of Japan | 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami | Earthquake | animation of the tsunami's propagation On 11 March 2011, off the Pacific coast of Japan, a 9.0-magnitude earthquake produced a tsunami high along Japan's northeastern coast. The wave caused widespread devastation, with an official count of 18,550 people confirmed to be killed/missing. The highest tsunami which was recorded at Miyako, Iwate reached a total height of. In addition the tsunami precipitated multiple hydrogen explosions and nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant. Tsunami warnings were issued to the entire Pacific Rim. |
| 2013 | Solomon Islands | 2013 Solomon Islands earthquake | Earthquake | On 6 February 2013, an earthquake measuring 8.0 on the Moment Magnitude scale struck the island nation of Solomon Islands. This earthquake created tsunami waves up to around 1 meter high. The tsunami also affected some other islands like New Caledonia and Vanuatu. |
| 2014 | Iceland | Askja | Landslide | At 11:24 PM on 21 July 2014, in a period experiencing an earthquake swarm related to the upcoming eruption of Bárðarbunga, an 800m-wide section gave way on the slopes of the Icelandic volcano Askja. Beginning at 350m over water height, it caused a tsunami 20–30 meters high across the caldera, and potentially larger at localized points of impact. Thanks to the late hour, no tourists were present; however, search and rescue observed a steam cloud rising from the volcano, apparently geothermal steam released by the landslide. Whether geothermal activity played a role in the landslide is uncertain. A total of 30–50 million cubic meters was involved in the landslide, raising the caldera's water level by 1–2 meters. |
| 2015 | Chile | 2015 Chile earthquake | Earthquake | On Wednesday, 16 September 2015, a major earthquake measuring 8.3 on the Moment Magnitude scale struck the west coast of Chile, causing a tsunami up to 16 feet high along the Chilean coast. |
| 2015 | Taan Fiord, Alaska, U.S. | Icy Bay | Landslide | On Saturday, 17 October 2015, a major landslide occurred at the head of Taan Fiord, a finger of Icy Bay. It triggered a megatsunami with an initial height of and a run-up on the opposite shore of the fjord of. As the wave traveled down Taan Fiord toward Icy Bay, run-ups along the shore of the fjord ranged from to over. |
| 2016 | New Zealand | 2016 Kaikoura earthquake | Earthquake | On 14 November 2016, a big earthquake struck the South Island of New Zealand measuring 7.5 to 7.8 magnitude. A 2.5-metre tsunami hit Kaikoura and other small waves less than one metre hit various shores in New Zealand. |
| 2017 | Greenland | Landslide | On 17 June 2017, a landslide measuring fell about into the Karrat fjord in the Uummannaq area in Western Greenland. The resultant tsunami hit the settlement Nuugaatsiaq killing four people, injuring nine and washing eleven buildings into the water. In the beginning the tsunami had a height of, but it was significantly lower once it hit the settlement. Initially it was unclear if the landslide was caused by a small earthquake, but later it was confirmed that the landslide had caused the tremors. | |
| 2018 | Sulawesi | 2018 Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami | Earthquake-triggered underwater landslide | On 28 September 2018, a localised tsunami struck Palu, sweeping shore-lying houses and buildings on its way; the earthquake, tsunami and soil liquefaction killed at least 1,234 and injured over 600. The Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics confirmed that a tsunami occurred, with a height of between, striking the settlements of Palu, Donggala and Mamuju. |
| 2018 | Java and Sumatra | 2018 Sunda Strait tsunami | Volcanic-eruption-triggered landslide | At 21:03 local time, Anak Krakatau erupted and damaged local seismographic equipment though a nearby seismographic station detected continuous tremors. BMKG detected a tsunami event around 21:27 local time at the western coast of Banten, but the agency had not detected any preceding tectonic events. On 23 December it was confirmed via satellite data and helicopter footage that the southwest sector of the Anak Krakatau had collapsed which triggered the tsunami and the main conduit is now erupting from underwater producing Surtseyan style activity. The Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management initially reported 20 deaths and 165 injuries. By the following day, the figure had been revised to 43 deaths, 584 injured, and 2 missing. Of the 43 recorded deaths, 33 were killed in Pandeglang, 7 in South Lampung, and 3 in Serang, with most of the injuries recorded also occurring in Pandeglang. The areas of Pandeglang struck by the wave included beaches which are popular tourist destinations. By 29 December, the death toll had risen to 426, while the injured numbered 7,202 and the missing 24. |
Highest or tallest
- The tsunami with the highest runup was the 1958 Lituya Bay megatsunami, which had a record height of.
- The only other recent megatsunamis are the 1963 Vajont Dam megatsunami, which had an initial height of, the, which measured tall, and the 2015 megatsunami in Taan Fiord, a finger of Icy Bay in Alaska, which had an estimated initial height of and a run-up of.
- A tsunami caused by a landslide during the 1964 Alaska earthquake reached a height of, making it one of the largest tsunamis in recorded history.
Deadliest