September 18, 1963 Tsunami: Marmara Sea, Turkey
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 6.2 earthquake began at Marmara Sea, Turkey on September 18, 1963 at 16:58:14 UTC. The water rose as high as 1 meters. Its effects were recorded at 1 place. It killed 1 person, counting the earthquake or eruption that caused it.
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
- September 18, 1963, 16:58:14 UTC
- Source
- Marmara Sea, Turkey
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 6.2, 30 km deep
- Maximum water height
- 1 m (3.3 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- 3
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 40.698° N, 29.159° E
The toll
- Deaths
- 1 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Houses destroyed
- 7 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Houses damaged
- 163 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.
1963, September 18. Marmara Sea. Earthquake magnitude 6.1, tsunami intensity 3, reliability 4. Sea flooding at Bandirma, inundation 100 m. (reference #4139)
1963, September 18. Along the coast of Mudanya a strip of sea shells and molluscs was observed and waves reached a height of 1m (reference #9275)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bandirma | Turkey | 108 | 1 | 100 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1963The 1900sTsunamis of TurkeyThe 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 4290.