Most Damaging Tsunamis

By beccacummings

  • The Lisbon Earthquake (Portugal)

    This occurred on November 1st, 1755. It had a death toll of 20,000 people. This earthquake caused tsunamis and fires, it destroyed Lisbon and surrounding areas. The waves of the Tsunami were 20 feet high at Lisbon and 65 feet high in Spain. It traveled 3,790 miles.

  • The Krakatoa Eruption (Java/ Sumatra)

    This occurred on August 26th, 1883. It had a VEI of 6. The Krakatoa Eruption killed 36,000 people. Over 70% of the island was destroyed. It was one of the deadliest and most destructive volcanic events recorded in history.

  • The Aleutian Earthquake (Alaska)

    This earthquake occurred on April 1st, 1946. It had a magnitude of 8.1. The death toll of this earthquake was 160 people. This earthquake caused around 26 million dollars in damage. Over 488 buildings were demolished, and 936 were damaged.

  • The Great Chilean Earthquake (Chile)

    This earthquake occurred on May 23rd, 1960. It had a magnitude of 9.5. The death toll of this quake was 60 people. The waves of the tsunami were 10.7 meters high. The cost of damages was around 400 million dollars.

  • The Good Friday Earthquake (Alaska)

    This earthquake occurred on March 27, 1964. It had a magnitude of 9.2. The death toll of this quake was 130 people. This was considered one of the most powerful earthquakes in North American history. The height of the tsunami wave was 219 feet!

  • The Hokkaido Earthquake (Japan)

    This earthquake occurred on July 12th, 1993. It had a magnitude of 7.8. This earthquake took the lives of 120 people. The wind speeds at this time were 87 miles per hour. Also, 3 million households lost power.

  • The Papua New Guinea Quake (Papua New Guinea)

    This quake occurred on July 17, 1998. The magnitude was 7.1. This quake took the lives of 2,100 people. After the earthquake, 3 tsunami waves came in quick succession. The height of the waves was 49 feet.

  • The Sumatra Earthquake (Indonesia)

    This quake occurred on December 26, 2004. It had a magnitude of 9.1. The death toll of this quake was 230,000 people! This quake was caused by a rupture along the fault between the Burma plate and the Indian plate. The height of the tsunami waves were 15-30 meters.

  • The Samoa Earthquake (Samoan Islands)

    This earthquake occurred on September 29, 2009. It had a magnitude of 8.1. The death toll of this quake was 200 people. This was considered the largest earthquake of 2009. The height of the tsunami waves was 14 meters.

  • The Chile Earthquake (Chile)

    This quake occurred on February 27, 2010. It had a magnitude of 8.8. The death toll of this quake was 700 people. This earthquake triggered a tsunami that destroyed several coastal towns. Because of this, 53 other countries had tsunami warnings.

  • The Tohoku Earthquake (Japan)

    This earthquake occurred on March 11, 2011. It had a magnitude of 9.1. This quake had a death toll of 20,000. This earthquake and tsunami caused 360 billion (US dollars) in damage. The height of these waves were 40.5 feet.

  • The Sulawesi Earthquake (Indonesia)

    This earthquake took place on September 27, 2018. It had a magnitude of 7.5. The quake had a death toll of 832 people. This earthquake caused landslides, which caused many deaths. The height of these tsunami waves were 23 feet high.