What are some of the largest historical
tsunamis?
Destructive tsunamis have occurred in all of the world's oceans and
seas. In the last half of the 20th Century, Pacific-wide,
destructive tsunamis occurred in 1946, 1952, 1957, 1960, and 1964.
(Many more tsunamis in inland seas around the periphery of the Pacific, where
extremely destructive locally and claimed thousands of lives. Such
localized tsunamis occurred in 1975, 1983, 1985, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1998, 1999
and 2001.
The 1 April 1946 Aleutian Earthquake and
Tsunami
One of the most destructive Pacific-wide tsunamis was generated by a
magnitude 7.8 earthquake near Unimak Island in Alaska's Aleutian Island
Chain. A huge wave of 35 meters destroyed completely the U.S. Coast
Guard's Scotch Cap lighthouse on Unimak and killed all five of its occupants.
The lighthouse was a steel-reinforced concrete structure standing about 30
meters above sea level. Without warning, destructive tsunami waves reached
the Hawaiian Islands, five hours later, causing considerable damage and loss of
life. The waves completely obliterated Hilo's waterfront on the island of
Hawaii, killing 159 people there. Altogether a total 165 people lost
their lives from this tsunami, including children attending school at Hawaii's
Laupahoehoe Point, where waves reaching up to 8 m destroyed also a
hospital. Damage was estimated at $26 million (in 1946 dollars).
In 1948, and as a result of this tsunami, the U.S. established a Pacific
Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii.
The 4 November 1952 Kamchatka Earthquake
and Tsunami
A strong earthquake (magnitude 8.2) off the coast of Kamchatka
Peninsula generated a great destructive Pacific-wide tsunami. Its
waves struck the Kamchatka Peninsula, the Kuril Islands and other areas of
Russia's Far East, causing considerable damage and loss of life. The
tsunami was widely observed and recorded in Japan, but there was no loss of life
or damage there. There was considerable damage in the Hawaiian Islands and
some damage in Peru and Chile. The tsunami was recorded or observed
throughout the islands of the Pacific. In New Zealand waves reached
height of 1m. In Alaska, in the Aleutian Islands and in California waves of up
to 1.4 meters were observed or recorded. By far the largest waves
outside the generating area were observed in the Hawaiian
Islands. Fortunately, no human lives were lost in Hawaii from this tsunami,
but damage was extensive, estimates ranging from $800,000- $1,000,000 (in 1952
dollars). The tsunami caused damage on Midway Island. Elsewhere in
the Hawaiian island chain, the waves destroyed boats and piers, knocked down
telephone lines, and caused extensive beach erosion. In some
locations, tsunami waves were destructive in certain locations but hardly
noticeable at others. The north shore of the Island of Oahu experienced
higher waves of up to 4.5 meters. On the south shore of the island, the
tsunami was powerful enough to throw a cement barge in the Honolulu Harbor into
a freighter. The island of Hawaii experienced run up to 6.1 meters.
In Hilo, a small bridge connecting Coconut Island to the shore was
destroyed by one of the tsunami waves lifting it off its foundation, then
smashing it down. The effects of the tsunami in the generating area in
Kamchatka, varied significantly. From Kamchatka Peninsula to Kronotsky
Peninsula the wave heights ranged from zero to 5 meters. From Kronotsky
Peninsula to Cape Shipursky the heights ranged from 4-13 meters. The
highest wave of 13 meters was the third and was observed at Olga Bay, where it
caused considerable damage. Travel time of the first tsunami wave to Olga
Bay was approximately 42 minutes after the earthquake. From Cape Shipursky
to Cape Povorotny, the tsunami waves ranged from 1 to 10 meters and caused
considerable loss of life and damage. At Avachinskaia Bay the tsunami
height was 1.2 meters and its travel time was about 30 minutes. From Cape
Povorotny to Cape Lopatkka the waves ranged from 5 to 15 meters. At Khodutka Bay
a cutter was thrown 500 meters back from shore. On the West coast of
Kamchatka Peninsula, the maximum tsunami runup at Ozernoe was 5 meters. At
Alaid Island of the Kuril Island group, run up was 1.5 meters. At Shumshu
Island it ranged from 7-9 meters. At Paramushir Island the waves ranged
from 4-18.4 meters. At Severo - Kurilsk on Paramushir Island, the second
wave was the highest reaching maximum run up of 15 meters. It destroyed
most of the town and caused considerable loss of life. At Onekotan Island
tsunami run up was 9 meters, while at Shiashkoton Island it was 8 meters and at
Iturup Island 2.5 meters. Waves of up to 2 meters were observed at the
Komandorsk Islands and at Okhotsk. At Sakhalin - Korsakov a 1-meter tsunami wave
was observed.
The 9 March 1957 Aleutian Earthquake and
Tsunami
On March 9, 1957, an 8.3 magnitude earthquake south of the Andreanof
Islands, in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska - in the same general area as that of
April 1, 1946 - generated a Pacific-wide tsunami. Although no lives were
lost, there was extensive destruction of property in the Hawaiian Islands, with
damage estimated at approximately $5 million (1957 dollars). The
waves were particularly high on the north shore of the island of Kauai where
they reached a maximum height of 16 meters, flooding the highway and destroying
houses and bridges. This was twice the height of the 1946 tsunami.
At Hilo, Hawaii, the tsunami runup reached 3.9 m and there was damage to
numerous buildings along the waterfront. Within Hilo Bay, Coconut Island was
covered by 1 m of water and the bridge connecting it to the shore, as in 1952,
was again destroyed.
The 22 May 1960 Chilean Earthquake and
Tsunami
The largest earthquake ( magnitude 8.6) of the 20th century occurred
on May 22, 1960 off the coast of south central Chile. It generated a
Pacific-wide tsunami, which was destructive locally in Chile and throughout the
Pacific Ocean. The tsunami killed an estimated 2,300 people in Chile.
There was tremendous loss of life and property in the Hawaiian Islands, in
Japan and elsewhere in the Pacific. Destructive waves in Hilo, Hawaii,
destroyed the waterfront and killed 61 people. Total damage was estimated
at more than $500 million (1960 dollars).
The 28 March 1964 Alaska Earthquake and
Tsunami
The largest earthquake of the 20th Century in the northern hemisphere, with
a magnitude 8.4, affected an area in Alaska that was almost 1600 km long
and more than 300 km wide - extending from Valdez to the Trinity Islands,
southwest of Kodiak Island in the Gulf of Alaska. The earthquake
caused areas to be lifted by as much as 15 m (50 feet) in certain areas, while
many other areas subsided greatly. In addition to many local
tsunamis generated within the Prince William Sound, vertical crustal
displacements averaging 1.8 m (6 ft.) over an area of about 300,000 square
kilometers (115,000 square miles) extending in the Gulf of Alaska's continental
shelf, generated a Pacific-wide tsunami. Its waves were very destructive
in southeastern Alaska, in Vancouver Island (British Columbia), and in the U.S.
States of Washington, California and Hawaii. The tsunami killed more
than 120 people and caused more than $106 million in damages, making it the
costliest ever to strike the Western United States and Canada. Five of
Alaska's seven largest communities were devastated by the combination of
earthquake and tsunami wave damage. Alaska's fishing industry and
most seaport facilities were virtually destroyed. Tsunami waves at Kodiak
Island washed away a total of 158 houses and buildings within two blocks of the
waterfront. Fishing boats were carried hundreds of meters inland.
The 1964 tsunami waves caused also extensive damage in Vancouver Island
(British Columbia), and in the states of Washington, California and Hawaii, in
the U.S.. The waves affected the entire California coastline, but
were particularly high from Crescent City to Monterey ranging from 2.1 - 6.3
meters (7-21 feet). Hardest hit was Crescent City, California, where waves
reaching as much as 6 meters (20-21 feet) destroyed half of the waterfront
business district. Eleven persons lost their lives there. At Santa
Cruz Harbor, the tsunami waves reached as high as 3.3 meters (11 feet) causing
some damage. There was extensive damage in San Francisco Bay, the marinas
in Marin County and at the Noyo, Los Angeles and Long Beach harbors.
Estimated losses in California were between $1,500,000 and $2,375,000
(1964 dollars), while at Crescent City tsunami damage was estimated at
$7,414,000.
National Weather Service
International Tsunami Information Center
737 Bishop Street Suite 2200
Honolulu, HI 96813
ITIC E-mail: itic.tsunami@noaa.gov
Webmaster E-mail: W-ITIC.Webmaster@noaa.gov
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Wednesday, December 1, 2004 12:50 PM