November 24, 1899 Tsunami: Seikaido, Japan
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7.1 earthquake began at Seikaido, Japan on November 24, 1899 at 18:43 UTC. The water rose as high as 0.3 meters. Its effects were recorded at 1 place.
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 24, 1899, 18:43 UTC
- Source
- Seikaido, Japan
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 7.1
- Maximum water height
- 0.3 m (1.0 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- -1
- Tsunami magnitude (Iida)
- -1.7
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 31.900° N, 132.000° E
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
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.
1899, Nov. 25. Double earthquakes at 1843 UTC 31.9 132 E, magnitude 7.1, and 1855 UTC 32.7 132.3 E, magnitude 6.9. Hosojima 32cm (peak-to-trough). Some damage in Miyazaki Pref. (Reference #150)
1899, November 25, 3:40 (local time). The tide gauge at Hosojima registered a tsunami with a height of 10 cm in its latter stage and a period of 20 minutes. The assumed travel time of the tsunami was 20 minutes to Aburatsu and 40 minutes to Tosashimizu. (Reference #414)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hososhima | Japan | 67 | 0.16 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) |
More
Every tsunami in 1899The 1800sTsunamis of JapanThe 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 1268.