August 14, 1918 Tsunami: Yunnan Province, China
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 5.5 earthquake and a landslide began at Yunnan Province, China on August 14, 1918. 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
- August 14, 1918
- Source
- Yunnan Province, China
- Cause
- Earthquake and landslide
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 5.5
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Waters
- A lake or river, not the ocean
- How certain
- Probable tsunami
- Source location
- 26.900° N, 103.000° 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.
August 14, 1918, South of Qiaojia, Yunnan Province, magnitude 5.5.
A large number of rocks rolled down the mountains along the Jinsha River and waves surged high in the river.
(above from reference #3939)
Reference #12345 lists as validity 3 (accessed April 2024)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quiaojia, Yunnan Province | China | 10 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1918The 1900sTsunamis of ChinaThe 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 3579.