Tsunami: Past Incidents

Throughout history, tsunamis have devastated coastlines around the world. Here’s a look at the most recent waves of destruction.

1946
The Pacific tsunami killed 165 people on Hawaii and Alaska and sparked the creation of a tsunami warning system for Pacific Ocean area countries
1960
The Chilean tsunami was cause by the magnitude 9.5 Great Chilean Earthquake. It is the fifth largest recorded tsunami in our history, killing between 490 and 2,290 people.
1963
The Vajont Dam disaster, caused by a giant landslide on a reservoir, killed 2,000 people.
1964
The Good Friday tsunami (caused by a magnitude 9.2 earthquake) killed 121 people in Alaska, British Columbia, California, and coastal Pacific Northwest towns.
1979
The Tumaco tsunami struck along the Pacific coast of Colombia and Ecuador. It destroyed six fishing villages and killed 259 people.
1993
The Okushiri tsunami off the coast of Hokkaido, Japan killed 202 people on the island of Okushiri.
2004
The Indian Ocean tsunami killed 275,000 people and went down in as the deadliest tsunami in known history. A worldwide effort raised billions of dollars in tsunami relief.

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