November 18, 1941 Tsunami: Seikaido, Japan
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7.4 earthquake began at Seikaido, Japan on November 18, 1941 at 16:46 UTC. The water rose as high as 1.2 meters. Its effects were recorded at 11 places. It killed 2 people.
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 18, 1941, 16:46 UTC
- Source
- Seikaido, Japan
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 7.4, 10 km deep
- Maximum water height
- 1.2 m (3.9 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 11
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- 0
- Tsunami magnitude (Iida)
- 0.3
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 32.000° N, 132.100° E
The toll
- Deaths
- 2
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 27
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.
There was a strong earthquake (Nov 18 1646 UTC, 32.6N, 132.1E, 0-20 km depth, magnitude 7.4) with source in Huyga-Nada, about 40 km northeast of Miyazaki. A tsunami 1 m high was observed along the eastern coast of Kyushu Island and the south coast of Shikoku Island. (reference #414)
There were two deaths, 27 houses destroyed, and ships washed away. (reference #150)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mimitsu | Japan | 59 | 1 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Hososhima | Japan | 63 | 1 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Oriuzako | Japan | 64 | 1 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Aburatsu | Japan | 80 | 1 | Eyewitness observation of water height | day 18, 17:16 | ||
| Saekiko | Japan | 109 | 0.05 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Tosa-Shimizu | Japan | 118 | 0.62 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 18, 17:07 | ||
| Sukumo | Japan | 119 | 0.6 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Tsukumi | Japan | 122 | 0.2 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Uwajima | Japan | 143 | 0.13 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Murotomisaki | Japan | 239 | 0.55 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Kushimoto | Japan | 382 | 0.2 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 18, 17:36 |
More
Every tsunami in 1941The 1900sTsunamis 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 1747.