November 1676 Tsunami: Hitachi, Japan
A tsunami of meteorological origin began at Hitachi, Japan in November 1676. Its effects were recorded at 3 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
The tsunami
- Date
- November 1676
- Source
- Hitachi, Japan
- Cause
- Meteorological
- Runups recorded
- 3
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- 1.5
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Very doubtful tsunami
The toll
- Deaths
- Few (about 1 to 50)
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Few (about 1 to 50)
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.
1676. There was a tsunami on the coast of Ibaraki, Fukushima and Aomori Prefectures. Homes were flooded, people and animals drowned. The report is muddled. It was apparently a tsunami of remote origin. (reference #414)
1676. Hitachi, Iwaki, Mutsu. Houses swept away and people and animals drowned. Probably storm. (reference #150)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hitachi | Japan | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||||
| Iwaki | Japan | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||||
| Mutsu | Japan | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1676The 1600sTsunamis of JapanAlerts 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 320.