February 3, 1923 Tsunami: Kamchatka, Russia
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 8.4 earthquake began at Kamchatka, Russia on February 3, 1923 at 16:01:50 UTC. The water rose as high as 8 meters. Its effects were recorded at 21 places in at least 5 countries. It killed 3 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
- February 3, 1923, 16:01:50 UTC
- Source
- Kamchatka, Russia
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 8.4, 15 km deep
- Maximum water height
- 8 m (26.2 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 21
- Tsunami magnitude (Iida)
- 3
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 54.486° N, 160.472° E
The toll
- Deaths
- 3
- Damage
- $1.5 million
- Houses destroyed
- Some (about 51 to 100) 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.
A series of strong shocks occurred on the coast of the Gulf of Kronotski, Kamchatka. It generated a tsunami with 6-8 meter runups in Kolgir Bay and Semljachik Kamchatka, and resulted in two deaths in Russia and one death and $1.5 million damage in Hawaii.
Soon after the earthquake, approximately from Khalaktyrka [Avacha Bay] to Ust'-Kamchatsk, three waves with an average height of about 6 m "threw themselves on the land and one after another broke away the shore ice ("shelf-ice" a fathom thick), and covered the low places" (P. Novograblenov, 1923a).
At different points of the coast the tsunami appeared in the following form. At Nalychevo "many great masses of ice were carried into the river from the sea and heaped up on both sides of the river. Thanks to the high bank, the settlement was not flooded" (Poliarnaia Zvezda, No. 21 of February 23).
At Ostrovnoe "the wave flooded the whole settlement; the people took refuge on the roofs of the houses. Great masses of ice destroyed all in their path. Two children of Kochkin drowned. Much property was carried away into the ocean. At 7 km from the mouth of the Ostrovnaia River, at the mouth of the river Vakhil, hunters did not notice the wave.
At Ust'-Kamchatsk the wave washed away the warehouse at the cannery (The Tautsumi plant). The ice on the Kamchatka River was broken up (Troshin and Diagilev, 1926).
(above from reference #413)
View a calculated tsunami-travel-time map.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semjachik, Kamchatka | Russia | 52 | 6 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Kolygir Bay | Russia | 125 | 8 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Ostrovnoye, Kamchatka | Russia | 149 | Eyewitness observation of water height | 2 | |||
| Nalychevo, Kamchatka | Russia | 169 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Avacha Bay, Kamchatka | Russia | 213 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Ust'Kamchatsk, Kamchatka | Russia | 247 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Hanasaki | Japan | 1,651 | 0.23 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 3, 18:19 | ||
| Ayukawa | Japan | 2,301 | 0.33 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 3, 18:09 | ||
| Kushimoto | Japan | 3,030 | 0.5 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 3, 20:55 | ||
| Hososhima | Japan | 3,337 | 0.2 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 3, 17:53 | ||
| Tofino (Clayoquot),british Columbia, BC | Canada | 4,875 | 0.14 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 3, 23:54 | ||
| Haleiwa, Oahu, HI, HI | United States | 5,028 | 3.7 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 3, 22:00 | ||
| Honolulu, Oahu, HI, HI | United States | 5,068 | 0.9 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 3, 22:00 | ||
| Kahului, Maui, HI, HI | United States | 5,185 | 3.5 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Hilo, Hawaii, HI, HI | United States | 5,373 | 6.1 | Eyewitness observation of water height | day 3, 22:31 | 1 | |
| San Francisco, CA, CA | United States | 5,909 | 0.1 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 4, 00:31 | ||
| Santa Cruz, CA, CA doubtful | United States | 6,002 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Los Angeles, CA, CA doubtful | United States | 6,499 | Eyewitness observation of water height | day 3, 16:11 | |||
| San Diego, CA, CA | United States | 6,650 | 0.2 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 4, 02:01 | ||
| Apia, Upolu Island | Samoa | 8,012 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 4, 01:43 | |||
| All of Hawaii, HI | United States | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1923The 1900sTsunamis of RussiaThe 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 1508.