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Great Lisbon Earthquake of 1755 - Lisbon, Portugal
The earthquake and subsequent tsunami that struck Lisbon, Portugal on November 1, 1755 killed around 60,000 people. Since November 1st is All Saints Day, many of the people killed were in churches during masses when the earthquake and tsunami hit. Others who died within the six days after died because of fires or drowning. The earthquake was estimated to be a magnitude of 8.5-9.0. -
Krakatau Volcano Tsunami of 1883 - Indonesia
The explosion of the volcano created a tsunami that killed approximately 36,000 people with a wall of water that was roughly 30 meters high. The tsunami wiped out 165 coastal villages and was not noticed until almost 30 hours after the volcano erupted. It is said that the force of the volcanic eruption was more than 10,000 times stronger than the Hiroshima atomic bomb. -
1946 Aleutians Tsunami - Alaska and Hawaii
The earthquake which caused the tsunami had a magnitude of 8.1 and killed 5 people in Alaska. While the earthquake was centered closer to Alaska, most of the people killed because of the tsunami had died in Hawaii. There was little damage in Alaska because of the tsunami but the Scotch Cap Lighthouse on Unimak Island was destroyed. In Hawaii, the city of Hilo (located on the Big Island) suffered large amounts of damage destroying many buildings. -
Southern Chile Earthquake and Tsunami of 1960
This earthquake was the most powerful ever recorded with a magnitude of 9.5 and killed between 490 and 5,700 people while leaving an additional 2 million people homeless. People also died in Hawaii (61 people), Japan (139 people) and the Philippines (21 people) because of this tsunami. -
1964 Alaska Earthquake
This earthquake was the strongest ever earthquake recorded in North America and had a magnitude of 9.2. A total of 131 people died because of the earthquake and resulting tsunami. This earthquake and tsunami ended up changing the Alaskan coastline with parts of it sinking 8 feet and other parts rising over 38 feet. The coastline also moved 50 feet closer to the ocean because of it. -
1993 Hokkaido Earthquake - Sea of Japan
The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.8 and killed 239 people with the tsunami killing more than half of them. This tsunami was one of the largest in Japan's history with the most damage occurring on the southern tip of Okushiri Island near the town of Aonae. -
1998 Papua New Guinea Earthquake
A 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit on July 17, 1998 creating not one but three tsunamis that ended up killing approximately 1,600 people and wiping out the villages of Arop, Warapu, Sissano and Malomo which are all located on the northern coast of the island. Villagers heard a loud boom and went to the coast to see that the sea was bubbling and boiling because of the earthquake. -
2004 Sumatra Earthquake and Tsunami
An earthquake with a magnitude of 9.1-9.3 struck on December 26, 2004 which caused a tsunami that ended up killing 227,898 people. The force of the earthquake was so strong that it created the largest fault length in history covering a distance of roughly 900 miles which is longer than the state of California. The damages from both were estimated to be around $10 billion. -
2009 Samoa Earthquake and Tsunami
An 8,1 magnitude earthquake struck 120 miles from the islands causing a tsunami that took 192 lives and is the most deadly tsunami ever in the Americas during the 21st century. The tsunami was caused by two earthquakes that happened about 2 to 3 minutes apart near the Tonga trench. This area is one of the most active areas in the world for earthquakes. -
2010 Chile Earthquake and Tsunami
An earthquake that had an 8.8 magnitude struck on February 27, 2010 which caused a tsunami to hit that killed 525 people. The most powerful earthquake in Chile in 50 years created a tsunami that needed to have warnings issued in 53 countries because of it. There was a lot of damage that happened with approximately 93% of the country lost power for several days. -
2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami
Over 16,000 people either died or disappeared because of the 9.0 magnitude earthquake which caused a tsunami to rush towards the island of Japan and cause some of the most damage a country has ever seen from a tsunami. The tsunami was so powerful that debris washed up on shores thousands of miles away from Japan years after the tsunami hit.
