January 1580 Tsunami: Yellow Sea, North Korea
A tsunami of unknown cause began at Yellow Sea, North Korea in January 1580. Its effects were recorded at 1 place.
Where the waves reached
The source (white) and every runup with a place, colored by the water height recorded there. A ring is a runup NCEI marks doubtful.
- Under 1 m
- 1 to 3 m
- 3 to 10 m
- 10 to 30 m
- 30 m and more
- Height not recorded
The tsunami
- Date
- January 1580
- Source
- Yellow Sea, North Korea
- Cause
- Unknown
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- 1
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Very doubtful tsunami
- Source location
- 40.000° N, 128.000° E
The toll
The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this tsunami.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Reference #414:
1580, January. Validity 1. There was a tsunami in Korea in the province of Kogen. No details are available. No earthquake was noted. May be a distant tsunami or storm surge.
Reference #79:
1580, January. Korea, Kogendo (E. coast). No details. No quake noted. Distant tsunami or storm surge.
Every runup
Nearest the source first. Heights are above sea level at the time; a tide gauge reads half the wave’s full height.
| Where | Country | Km from source | Water height, m | Inland, m | Measured by | First wave, UTC | Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kogen | North Korea | 5 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1580The 1500sTsunamis of North KoreaAlerts in force
Sources
Tsunami events and runups from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI tsunami event 186.