Most Destructive Tsunamis in History

The most destructive tsunamis in history have opened the way for several havoc and confusion in society. Tsunamis are catastrophic situations that occur after an earthquake or landslide. It is the tremendous disruption and displacement of waves to create high tides that destroy vegetation and human life.

The most destructive Tsunamis in history are Sumatra, Indonesia (2004), North Pacific Coast, Japan (2011), Lisbon, Portugal (1755), Krakatau, Indonesia (1883), Enshunada Sea, Japan (1498), Nankaido, Japan (1707), Sanriku, Japan (1896), Northern Chile (1868), Ryukyu Islands, Japan (1771), Ise Bay, Japan (1586).

This article covers the five most destructive tsunamis in the history of disasters and also a table of the 10 most destructive tsunamis in history.

About Destructive Tsunamis in History

The worst tsunamis in history have been in the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, and parts of Indonesia & Japan. One of the worst tsunamis has occurred in Japan and it has resulted in major loss of life and infrastructure. The worst of all tsunamis have resulted in severe displacement of people and has created lots of damage to life and property. It is the act of nature that occurs after an earthquake or due to a landslide. In this article, we have described the 5 most destructive tsunamis that have occurred ever in history. They are the Lituya Bay Megatsunami, the Sumatra Indonesian Tsunami, the Great Alaskan Tsunami, the Tohoku Tsunami & Krakatau Volcano Tsunami.

List of Most Destructive Tsunamis in History (Last 10 Years)

Tsunamis in the last 10 years are listed in the below table:

Name & Place of Tsunami	Date Occurred On
Sumatra, Indonesia	26th December, 2004
North Pacific Coast, Japan	11th March, 2011
Lisbon, Portugal	1st November, 1755
Krakatau, Indonesia	27th August, 1883
Enshunada Sea, Japan	20th September 1498
Nankaido, Japan	28th October 1707
Sanriku, Japan	15th June 1896
Northern Chile	13th August 1868
Ryuku Islands, Japan	24th April 1771
Ise Bay, Japan	18th January 1586

1. Lituya Bay Megatsunami, 1958

• The Lituya Bay Megatsunami took place on 9th July, 1958 at 10:15 PM. It is regarded as one of the highest tsunamis in the history. With a magnitude of 7.8 – 8.3, it was one of the strongest earthquakes whose after effects resulted in a tsunami.
• It’s epicenter was Gulf of Alaska and had it’s impact as far as 80 kms. With a depth of 35 kms from sea level, it had several effects such as disrupting the normal growth of vegetation and resulting in rock fall in Gilbert.
• The trees eroded as far as to 524 metres and the rockfall caused ice to fall off the glaciers of Alaska coming till 400 metres.
• Around 5 deaths took place due to this tsunami. This tsunami did not cause much loss to human life, but more to soil and vegetation and nature.

2. Sumatra, Indonesia Tsunami 2004

• Sumatra tsunami took place on 26th Dec, 2004 at 7:58 AM. It is known as the most destructive tsunamis in the history and has caused great loss to human life and property, including those to natural vegetation and wildlife. The earthquake took place with it’s epicenter at Sumatra, Indonesia as well as in parts of The Indian Ocean.
• The earthquake was so destructive that it led to the expansion of it as far till areas such as Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Tamil Nadu, Bangladesh, Kerala, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and even upto Alaska.
• This tsunami is also known as Boxing Day Tsunami as it occurred just after the Boxing Day festival that takes place just a day after Christmas. It was the most deadliest tsunami’s as it killed around 2, 27, 898 people and even the planet vibrated to around 10 millimetres.
• It caused landslides upto 1600 kilometres and the aftershocks were felt at Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Even the earthquake and tsunamis continued daily for about 3-4 months with magnitudes of about 6 or 7.
• The energy of Tsunami was around 5 megatonnes, which was equal to twice more than the energy consumed in the world war II. It caused rupturing of trees, and poisoning of fresh water and lakes from that of seas. Apart from the infrastructure and life it destroyed, it shook the whole of Eastern and Western parts of Indian Ocean.
• In India, Tamil Nadu’s Nagapattinam district was severely affected causing the death of around 6051 people, most of them being from the fishing community. The villages near the coastal region were affected and around 3 waves struck the regions of Andaman & Nicobar Islands. The 3rd wave was the most deadliest one for Andaman as it resulted in heavy ecosystem damage.

3. The Great Alaskan Tsunami, 1964

• Also known as The Good Friday Earthquake, it occurred on 27th March, 1964 at 5:36 PM. A total of 131 deaths were recorded, 122 being alone from the after effect of the earthquake, that is, tsunami.
• It was recorded as the second most destructive earthquake and one of the most destructive tsunamis of North America. The magnitude of the earthquake was 9.2 and the epicenters were Canada & United States. It lasted as long as 4 minutes 38 seconds.
• The tsunami was a 27 feet long which led to the destruction of ships and harbors near the coastal regions that caused the death of 32 people from the ship.
• The post effects were felt in Britain, California & Columbia. Around 20 countries total were effected and Alaska was effected till the area of 67 meters. It was the most destructive tsunami Alaska ever witnessed. A team was created to rectify the infrastructure damage and cure the people affected from it.

4. Tohoku Tsunami, 2011

• The tohoku tsunami is regarded as the fourth most destructive tsunami of the world and first in Japan. It took place on 11th March, 2011 at 5:46 AM. With a magnitude of the earthquake prior to the tsunami had a magnitude of 9 to 9.1.
• It caused 20, 000 death of people and the tsunami went upto 40.5 metres near the coastal region of Japan. It is also called The Great East Japan Earthquake. It not only caused the destruction of human life but also resulted in nuclear disasters. The major disaster Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster also took place in which the radioactive water started to come out from tanks and nuclear release took place.
• It had double the energy of what was given out in Indian Ocean Tsunami. Around 1000 aftershocks were felt and even 3 days after the tsunami, earthquakes and tsunamis were felt in Fukushima of magnitude of 7.1 where 3 people died.
• It resulted in a lot of damage to infrastructure. However, this led to better management of Japan in terms of catastrophic situations warnings and developments after the damage.

Read about this Tsunami in Detail: Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011

5. Krakatau Volcano tsunami, 1883

• In the past 250 years, such deadly and destructive volcano eruption tsunami has never been witnessed. This was the tsunami that took place after the volcanic eruption of Krakatoa(Krakatau) at Indonesia. Around 70% of the land was covered with magma near the volcano. Loud explosive sounds were heard even 800 kilometres away from the explosion site.
• The tsunami started to take place from 20th May, 1883 to 21st Oct, 1883. The heights of tsunamis were as long as 33 feet at Merak and it destroyed around 300 villages by killing a total of 36, 417 deaths, tsunami alone affecting 36000 people.
• The tsunami caused the ships in South Africa to tremble and get washed away. The tsunami occurred due to consecutive rock flow under the sea and large displacement of sea water due to secondary explosion beneath the sea. A lot of magma entered the sea and this caused the tsunami to reach upto 800 kilometres away from the site.
• It destroyed the coastal region of Sumatran by affecting 250 villages. The tsunami went upto Asia, reached Bombay, India and affected Sri Lanka which led to the death of 1 person.

Conclusion – Most Destructive Tsunamis in History

The tsunamis mentioned above are one of the most destructive aspects of nature in the history. These catastrophic situations have severely affected human life and caused great damage to life and property. This has led to serious developments in order to prevent such situations, and Japan being at the top of these. Every year Japan witnesses several disasters, but the disaster management techniques in Japan have improved to a very large extent and are at the most updated rate with respect to the world. These disasters, however, teach us to not play with Mother Earth and the Nature and preserve them as far as possible upto our maximum extent.

People Also View:

• What is a Tsunami?
• Interesting Facts on Earthquake and Tsunami of Japan
• World Tsunami Awareness Day

FAQs on Most Destructive Tsunamis in History

Which is the most destructive tsunami ever occurred in the world?

The most destructive tsunami was The Indian Ocean Tsunami with it’s epicentre Sumatran, Indonesia in the year 2004.

How much amount of money was collected during the Indian Ocean Tsunami?

By 2005, a total of 1.5 Billion US Dollars had been collected in terms of humanitarian response and treat the victims of the most destructive tsunami ever in the history.

Which country is most prone to tsunamis?

Japan is the country that is most prone to tsunamis. The second country where maximum tsunamis occur after Japan is Indonesia.

Where do 90% of the tsunamis occur, that is, in which region of the world?

90% of the tsunamis occur in the Pacific Region of The Pacific Ocean of the world.

Which tsunami is also known as The Boxing Day Tsunami?

The Indian Ocean Tsunami, or the Sumatran Tsunami is also known as the Boxing Day Tsunami.