September 12, 1700 Tsunami: Yellow Sea, South Korea
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 6.5 earthquake began at Yellow Sea, South Korea on September 12, 1700. Its effects were recorded at 4 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
- September 12, 1700
- Source
- Yellow Sea, South Korea
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 6.5
- Runups recorded
- 4
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- 1
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 36.500° N, 126.500° 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:
1700, September 12. Validity 2. 36.5 N, 126.5 E. In Korea, there was an earthquake and tsunami on the coast of the province of P'yongyan, at Naepo [North Korea]. There was no destruction. (Imamura, 1949; Musya, 1951; Iida et al., 1967)
According to D.N. Rustanovich et al. (1961), an earthquake occurred in the province of Ch'ungch'ong. At Chulgsan, large cracks formed on the surface of the ground. A tsunami occurred.
Reference #150:
1700, September 12. 36.5 N, 126.5 E, magnitude 6.5, validity 4. Earthquake and tsunami Heiando [North Korea] and Chuseido earthquake, Uchiura tsunami. No damage.
Reference #79:
1700, September 12. Tsunami source area Heiando, [North] Korea. Tsunami observation Uchiura, W. coast Korea. No damage.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heiando | North Korea | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||||
| Chuseido | North Korea | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||||
| Uchiura | North Korea | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||||
| Naepo | North Korea | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1700The 1700sTsunamis of South KoreaThe 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 2026-09-24. NCEI tsunami event 365.