August 19, 1670 Tsunami: East China Sea
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 6.8 earthquake began at East China Sea on August 19, 1670. Its effects were recorded at 5 places.
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
Travel times
How long the first wave took to reach each part of the ocean, one line for each hour up to 24, estimated from the source and the depth of the sea.
The travel times are computed in your browser, which needs JavaScript.
- 1 to 4 hours
- 5 to 6 hours
- 7 to 14 hours
- 15 hours and more
Computed in your browser the way NOAA’s own travel time maps are: the wave travels at the square root of gravity times the depth, over NOAA’s ETOPO1 depths averaged to a 10 arc-minute grid. Checked against NOAA NCEI’s maps for 21 tsunamis over the first 24 hours, these lines fall within 10 minutes of NCEI’s at half the points compared and within 52 minutes at 9 in 10. They give when the first wave could arrive, not how high it is; bays, harbors and island chains finer than the grid can see it later. Not for use in a warning: see tsunami.gov.
The tsunami
- Date
- August 19, 1670
- Source
- East China Sea
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 6.8
- Runups recorded
- 5
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- 1.5
- Tsunami magnitude (Iida)
- 1
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 33.000° N, 122.500° E
The toll
- Deaths
- Many (about 101 to 1,000)
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Reference #414:
1670, August 19, validity 2. 31.5 N, 121.5 E. In China, there was an earthquake in the Shanghai region, which was accompanied by an underground rumble and tsunami waves at Chiating, Nanxiang and Wusong. Many people drowned (according to the chronicle of the Suzhou district).
Reference #150:
1670, August 19, validity 4. 33 N, 122.5 E, magnitude 6.75. Chiating, Lutienchen and Pau Shan earthquake and tsunami. Many people drowned along the sea coast.
Reference #79:
1670, August 19. Tsunami source near Shanghai, East China Sea. Tsunami observations: China: Chiating, Lutienchen and Pau shan (village on S. shore of S. distributions of Yangtse Kiang.
Reference #12988:
1670, August 19. Yellow Sea (33N, 122.5E) earthquake of Ms 6.7 triggered tsunami; “land shook with sound, tide overflew, and many people in coastal areas were drowned.” (Suzhou Annals of Emperor Kangxi of Qing Dynasty)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pau Shan | China | 196 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Wusong | China | 204 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Chiating (Jiading) | China | 213 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Nanxiang | China | 220 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Lutienchen | China | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1670The 1600sTsunamis of ChinaThe earthquakeThis day in weather historyAlerts 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 2026-10-01. NCEI tsunami event 304.