February 11, 1954 Tsunami: Gansu and Shanxi Provinces, China

Name: February 11, 1954 Tsunami: Gansu and Shanxi Provinces, China
Start: 1954-02-11
Location: Gansu and Shanxi Provinces, China

February 11, 1954 · Probable tsunami

A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7.3 earthquake began at Gansu and Shanxi Provinces, China on February 11, 1954 at 00:30:15 UTC. 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

Tsunami warnings in force

The tsunami

Date: February 11, 1954, 00:30:15 UTC
Source: Gansu and Shanxi Provinces, China
Cause: Earthquake
Earthquake: Magnitude 7.3
Runups recorded: 1
Waters: A lake or river, not the ocean
How certain: Probable tsunami

The toll

Damage: Severe (about $5 to $25 million) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
Houses destroyed: Many (101 to 1,000) 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.

February 11, 1954, 08:30:15 local time, Northeast of Shandan, Gansu, 39 N, 101.3 E, depth 10 km, magnitude 7.25.

Jiuquan: Many steep and unstable slopes avalanched, river water surged.

(above from reference #3939)

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
Jiuquan, Gansu Province	China				Eyewitness observation of water height

Every tsunami in 1954 The 1900s Tsunamis of China The earthquake This day in weather history Alerts 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 3572.