November 6, 1958 Tsunami: S. Kuril Islands, Russia
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 8.3 earthquake began at S. Kuril Islands, Russia on November 6, 1958 at 22:58:08 UTC. The water rose as high as 5 meters. Its effects were recorded at 61 places in at least 8 countries.
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
Travel times
How long the first wave took to reach each part of the ocean, one line for each hour up to 24, estimated from the source and the depth of the sea.
The travel times are computed in your browser, which needs JavaScript.
- 1 to 4 hours
- 5 to 6 hours
- 7 to 14 hours
- 15 hours and more
Computed in your browser the way NOAA’s own travel time maps are: the wave travels at the square root of gravity times the depth, over NOAA’s ETOPO1 depths averaged to a 10 arc-minute grid. Checked against NOAA NCEI’s maps for 21 tsunamis over the first 24 hours, these lines fall within 10 minutes of NCEI’s at half the points compared and within 52 minutes at 9 in 10. They give when the first wave could arrive, not how high it is; bays, harbors and island chains finer than the grid can see it later. Not for use in a warning: see tsunami.gov.
The tsunami
- Date
- November 6, 1958, 22:58:08 UTC
- Source
- S. Kuril Islands, Russia
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 8.3, 40 km deep
- Maximum water height
- 5 m (16.4 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 61
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- 2.5
- Tsunami magnitude (Iida)
- 2
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 44.530° N, 148.540° E
The toll
- Injuries
- Some (about 51 to 100)
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
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.
Destruction on Iturup, Urup, Kunashir, and Lesser Kuril Islands. (Reference #413)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burevestnik, Iturup I., Kurilskiye | Russia | 85 | 3 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Urup Island, Kurilskiye | Russia | 92 | 4 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Iturup Island, Kurilskiye | Russia | 92 | 3 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Malokuril'Skaya Bay, Shikotan | Russia | 156 | 3.5 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Shikotan Island, Kurilskiye | Russia | 166 | 5 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Yuzhno-Kuril'Sk, Kunashir Island | Russia | 221 | 2.5 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Sernovodsk, Kunashir | Russia | 243 | 2.5 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Nemuroko | Japan | 271 | 0.6 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 6, 23:34 | ||
| Hanasaki | Japan | 276 | 0.81 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Kiritappu | Japan | 318 | 0.8 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Biwase | Japan | 323 | 1 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Abashiri | Japan | 345 | 0.22 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Kushiro | Japan | 377 | 0.16 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 6, 23:40 | ||
| Mombetsu | Japan | 412 | 0.09 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Tokachiko | Japan | 489 | 0.46 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Urakawa | Japan | 536 | 0.37 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Wakkanai | Japan | 549 | 0.1 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Tomakomainishiko | Japan | 597 | 0.07 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Muroran | Japan | 660 | 0.14 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Moriko | Japan | 698 | 0.2 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Hakodate | Japan | 708 | 0.26 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Hachinohe | Japan | 727 | 0.51 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 6, 00:22 | ||
| Hachinohe (Kensetsukyoku) | Japan | 729 | 0.34 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Miyako | Japan | 766 | 0.11 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Kesennumakokogoshio | Japan | 852 | 0.28 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Kesennumahashikami | Japan | 856 | 0.3 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Onagawa | Japan | 899 | 0.34 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Ayukawa | Japan | 908 | 0.21 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Shiogama | Japan | 933 | 0.2 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Hanabuchi | Japan | 936 | 0.25 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Onahama | Japan | 1,061 | 0.13 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Choshi | Japan | 1,173 | 0.2 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 6, 00:28 | ||
| Mera | Japan | 1,301 | 0.09 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Ito | Japan | 1,337 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | ||||
| Omaezaki | Japan | 1,412 | 0.17 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Toba | Japan | 1,500 | 0.03 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Osaka | Japan | 1,567 | 0.06 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Uragami | Japan | 1,634 | 0.14 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Kushimoto | Japan | 1,648 | 0.15 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 6, 00:40 | ||
| Kochi | Japan | 1,775 | 0.1 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Tosa-Shimizu | Japan | 1,876 | 0.09 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Attu, Massacre Bay, AK, AK | United States | 2,023 | 0.2 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 7, 01:58 | ||
| Aburatsu | Japan | 2,071 | 0.05 | Eyewitness observation of water height | day 6, 01:22 | ||
| Makurazaki | Japan | 2,168 | 0.02 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Adak, Sweeper Cove, AK, AK | United States | 2,685 | 0.1 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 7, 00:58 | ||
| Wake Island, UM | US Territories | 3,263 | 0.1 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 7, 03:04 | ||
| Midway Islands, HI | US Territories | 3,518 | 0.2 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 7, 03:10 | ||
| Kwajalein, Marshall Islands, MH | Marshall Islands | 4,378 | 0.1 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 7, 05:00 | ||
| Nawiliwili, Kauai, HI, HI | United States | 5,350 | 0.1 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 7, 05:22 | ||
| Haleiwa, Oahu, HI, HI | United States | 5,474 | 0.1 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 7, 05:22 | ||
| Mokuoloe-Coconut Is, Oahu, HI | United States | 5,511 | 0.1 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 7, 06:00 | ||
| Honolulu, Oahu, HI, HI | United States | 5,514 | 0.1 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 7, 05:40 | ||
| Kahului, Maui, HI, HI | United States | 5,653 | 0.3 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 7, 06:10 | ||
| Hilo, Hawaii, HI, HI | United States | 5,849 | 0.2 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 7, 06:16 | ||
| Tofino (Clayoquot),british Columbia, BC | Canada | 6,187 | 0.05 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 7, 08:03 | ||
| San Francisco, CA, CA | United States | 7,124 | 0.2 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Avila Beach, CA, CA | United States | 7,427 | 0.14 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Port Hueneme, CA, CA | United States | 7,609 | 0.1 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 7, 09:28 | ||
| Pago Pago, American Samoa, AS | US Territories | 7,708 | 0.1 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 7, 08:52 | ||
| Fort Denison, Sydney Harbor | Australia | 8,684 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 8, 13:45 | |||
| Talara | Peru | 13,457 | 0.1 | day 7, 18:22 |
More
Every tsunami in 1958The 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 1884.