Tsunamis in 1854

July 9, 1854 Tsunami: N. Kuril Islands, Russia

July 9, 1854 · Definite tsunami

A tsunami caused by a volcano began at N. Kuril Islands, Russia on July 9, 1854.

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
July 9, 1854
Source
N. Kuril Islands, Russia
Cause
Volcano
Runups recorded
0
Waters
Ocean
How certain
Definite tsunami
Source location
50.900° N, 155.500° 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.

Waves flooded almost half of low island. (reference #79)

A small coastal ship was sailing in the summer of 1854 from Petropavlovsk to the settlement of the Russian-American Company on Shumshu Island and they received word from the commander of the vessel that the volcano Fus on Paramushir and the volcano Alaid were erupting strongly on June 27, 1854, as a consequence of which a very heavy rain of ash was falling far in all directions. On Shumshu there was a very strong earthquake, in which sea waves inundated almost half of the low island. (reference #413)

More

Every tsunami in 1854The 1800sTsunamis of RussiaThe eruptionThis 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 821.