Tsunamis in 1780

June 18, 1780 Tsunami: S. Kuril Islands, Russia

June 18, 1780 · 12 deaths · Erroneous entry

A tsunami caused by an earthquake began at S. Kuril Islands, Russia on June 18, 1780. It killed 12 people.

Where the waves reached

The source of the tsunami. No runup with a place is recorded for it.

  • Under 1 m
  • 1 to 3 m
  • 3 to 10 m
  • 10 to 30 m
  • 30 m and more
  • Height not recorded

Tsunami warnings in force

The tsunami

Date
June 18, 1780
Source
S. Kuril Islands, Russia
Cause
Earthquake
Runups recorded
0
Waters
Ocean
How certain
Erroneous entry

The toll

Deaths
12

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 #413Erroneously reported on the following date(s)in other publications: June 18, January 19.

On June 18 [June 18 Julian date is equal to June 29 in Gregorian calendar], in the night before morning, almost at dawn, there was a great and terrible quaking of the earth, which continued for a quarter of an hour …

More

Every tsunami in 1780The 1700sTsunamis of RussiaThis 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 523.