January 12, 1914 Tsunami: Seikaido, Japan
A tsunami caused by a volcano and a magnitude 7.1 earthquake began at Seikaido, Japan on January 12, 1914 at 09:28 UTC. The water rose as high as 3 meters. Its effects were recorded at 1 place. It killed 63 people, counting the earthquake or eruption that caused it.
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
- January 12, 1914, 09:28 UTC
- Source
- Seikaido, Japan
- Cause
- Volcano and earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 7.1, 33 km deep
- Volcano
- The eruption that caused it
- Maximum water height
- 3 m (9.8 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- -1
- Tsunami magnitude (Iida)
- 1.6
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Probable tsunami
- Source location
- 31.580° N, 130.670° E
The toll
- Deaths
- 63 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Injuries
- 112 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million); $19 million with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Houses destroyed
- 2,268 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.
January 12, 1914, 18:29. Validity 3. There was an earthquake connected with an eruption of the Sakurajima volcano and accompanied by a tsunami... The main earthquake, at 18:29, caused the collapse of homes and dikes at Kagoshima, rock falls and slides. The railway was out of commission for a day, the telegraph line for three days. The collapses buried several refugees. In addition, a tsunami wave 3 m high occurred (according to some sources, 1 1/2 hours after the earthquake), and did serious damage to the boats in the harbor. Listed as likely tsunami (reference #414)
January 12, 1914, 09;28 UTC, 31.6 N, 130.6 E, magnitude 7.1. Eruption of Sakurajima Volcano. 58 deaths. 120 houses collapsed, 2148 houses burnt down by eruption. Waves inundated up Kagoshima Bay area. 13 vessels destroyed, 22 ships damaged. About 2m tsunami. Listed as definite tsunami (reference #150)
A small tsunami was observed at Kagoshima an hour or an hour and a half after the earthquake (KOTO (1916, p. 69)), but it seems likely that this was a seiche effect rather than a true tsunami. (reference #1686)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kagoshima | Japan | 10 | 3 | Eyewitness observation of water height | day 12, 10:58 |
More
Every tsunami in 1914The 1900sTsunamis of JapanThe earthquakeThe 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 1412.