1896 Sanriku tsunami

• Date: 1896/6/15
• Earthquake Magnitude: 8.5
• Death Toll: over 27,000

On June 15, 1896, a magnitude 8.5 earthquake struck off the coast of the Sanriku region (eastern Iwate, Miyagi, and Aomori).

The resulting tsunami was 125.3 feet high in some places, a record height until the 11 March 2011 tsunami, which reached 127.6 feet high in the town of Aneyoshi, in Iwate prefecture. One hundred seventy miles of coastline were destroyed.

The tsunami reached Hawaii and California as well, destroying wharves and sweeping away a small number of houses in the Hawaiian Islands, and reaching a height of 9.5 feet in some places in California.

References

• Fackler, Martin. "Aneyoshi Journal: Tsunami Warnings Written in Stone." New York Times, 20 April 2011. Accessed 20 April 2011.
• "Historic Earthquakes." United States Geological Survey. Accessed 20 April 2011.