September 23, 1955 Tsunami: Jinsha River, Yunnan Province, China
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 6.8 earthquake began at Jinsha River, Yunnan Province, China on September 23, 1955 at 15:06:23 UTC. The water rose as high as 1 meters.
Where the waves reached
The source of the tsunami. No runup with a place is recorded for it.
- 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
- September 23, 1955, 15:06:23 UTC
- Source
- Jinsha River, Yunnan Province, China
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 6.8, 10 km deep
- Maximum water height
- 1 m (3.3 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 0
- Waters
- A lake or river, not the ocean
- How certain
- Probable tsunami
- Source location
- 26.600° N, 101.800° E
The toll
The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this tsunami.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
September 23, 1955, 23:06:23 local time, In and around Lhazha, Yongren of Yunnan Province and Yuzha, Huili of Sichuan Province, 26.6 N, 101.8 E, depth 10 km, magnitude 6.75.
Along the Jinsha River and its surrounding gullies, large quantities of rocks broke and fell damming up the gullies. Waves in the Jinsha River surged 1 m high. Rivers and springs dried up, and lots of new springs emerged. Changes of water level were observed in wells and ditches.
(above from reference #3939)
More
Every tsunami in 1955The 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 3573.