March 23, 1960 Tsunami: Sanriku, Japan
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 6.7 earthquake began at Sanriku, Japan on March 23, 1960 at 00:23 UTC. The water rose as high as 0.75 meters. Its effects were recorded at 12 places.
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
- March 23, 1960, 00:23 UTC
- Source
- Sanriku, Japan
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 6.7, 20 km deep
- Maximum water height
- 0.75 m (2.5 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 12
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- -2.5
- Tsunami magnitude (Iida)
- -1
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 39.400° N, 143.700° 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.
March 23, 1960, 09:30 [local time], 39.3 N, 143.8 E, depth 20 km, magnitude 6.7 MS. An aftershock of the preceding earthquake (March 20, 1960) caused a weak tsunami which was registered by tide gauges. (reference #414)
March 23, 1960, 09:23 (local time), 39.4 N, 143.7 E, magnitude 6.7 MS. Hachinohe-Miyako 16 cm (range), Kamaishi 20 cm (range), Ayukawa 29 cm (range), Taro 150 cm (range). (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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miyako | Japan | 150 | 0.08 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Taro | Japan | 152 | 0.75 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Kamaishi | Japan | 157 | 0.1 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 23, 01:01 | ||
| Enoshima | Japan | 213 | 0.02 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Onagawa | Japan | 223 | 0.05 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Hachinohe | Japan | 224 | 0.08 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Ayukawa | Japan | 227 | 0.15 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 23, 01:07 | ||
| Urakawa | Japan | 317 | 0.05 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 23, 01:05 | ||
| Hakodate | Japan | 360 | 0.06 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Onahama | Japan | 368 | 0.09 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 23, 01:23 | ||
| Kushiro | Japan | 401 | 0.04 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Hanasaki | Japan | 458 | 0.05 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 23, 01:13 |
More
Every tsunami in 1960The 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 1899.