The most destructive tsunamis in history

Sumatra, Indonesia – 26 December 2004

The 9.1 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Sumatra was estimated to occur at a depth of 30 km. An estimated US$10b of damages is attributed to the disaster, with around 230,000 people reported dead.

North Pacific Coast, Japan – 11 March 2011

A powerful tsunami travelling 800km per hour with 10m-high waves swept over the east coast of Japan, killing more than 18,000 people.

Lisbon, Portugal – 1 November 1755

A magnitude 8.5 earthquake caused a series of three huge waves to strike various towns and killed 60,000 in Portugal, Morocco, and Spain.

Krakatau, Indonesia – 27 August 1883

This tsunami event is linked to the explosion of the Krakatau caldera volcano which killed around 40,000 people in total, however, as many as 2,000 deaths can be attributed directly to the volcanic eruptions, rather than the ensuing tsunami.

Sanriku, Japan – 15 June 1896

This tsunami propagated after an estimated magnitude 7.6 earthquake occurred off the coast of Sanriku, Japan and causing damage to more than 11,000 homes and killing some 22,000 people.

Northern Chile – 13 August 1868

This tsunami event was caused by a series of two significant earthquakes, estimated at a magnitude of 8.5, a total of 25,000 deaths, and an estimated US$300 million in damages caused by the tsunami and earthquakes combined along the Peru-Chile coast.