June 24, 1973 Tsunami: S. Kuril Islands, Russia

Name: June 24, 1973 Tsunami: S. Kuril Islands, Russia
Start: 1973-06-24
Location: S. Kuril Islands, Russia

June 24, 1973 · 0.64 m · Definite tsunami

A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7.1 earthquake began at S. Kuril Islands, Russia on June 24, 1973 at 02:43:25 UTC. The water rose as high as 0.64 meters. Its effects were recorded at 32 places in at least 2 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

Tsunami warnings in force

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: June 24, 1973, 02:43:25 UTC
Source: S. Kuril Islands, Russia
Cause: Earthquake
Earthquake: Magnitude 7.1, 50 km deep
Maximum water height: 0.64 m (2.1 ft)
Runups recorded: 32
Tsunami magnitude (Iida): 2.2
Waters: Ocean
How certain: Definite tsunami
Source location: 43.300° N, 146.400° E

The toll

Injuries: 1 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
Damage: Limited (under about $1 million) 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.

June 24, 1973, 13hr 43min [Russian local time] (02h43m25s5s UTC, 43.1 N, 146.5 E, depth 50 km, M = 7.5). A strong earthquake of magnitude 7.5 occurred near the source region of the earthquake of June 17. The earthquake produced a tsunami which was observed on the coasts of the Kuril Islands and of Japan. It was weaker than the tsunami of June 17. On the tide gauge records, the tsunami begins with a rise in water level. According to Shchetnikov, the energy of the tsunami was equal to 2.8 x 1019 erg. (reference #417)

June 24, 1973, 11:43 [Japan local time], 43 N, 164.7 E, magnitude 7.1. Shikotan Is. 53cm high, Hanasaki 64cm, Hiroo 28cm, Ayukawa 8cm, Urakawa 15cm, Miyako 7cm, Kushiro

15cm, Hachinohe 12cm, Ofunato 14cm. Small damage

by earthquake. (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	Measured by	First wave, UTC
Hanasaki	Japan	68	0.64	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Malokuril'Skaya Bay, Shikotan	Russia	71	0.56	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)	day 24, 03:01
Yuzhno-Kuril'Sk, Kunashir Island	Russia	92	0.08	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)	day 24, 03:49
Kushiro	Japan	169	0.15	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Abashiri	Japan	188	0.08	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Burevestnik, Iturup I., Kurilskiye	Russia	206	0.23	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)	day 24, 03:30
Kuril'Sk, Kuril Is	Russia	245	0.08	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)	day 24, 04:05
Mombetsu	Japan	270	0.05	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Tokachiko	Japan	274	0.28	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Hiroo	Japan	276	0.28	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)	day 24, 03:32
E. Hokkaido	Japan	285	0.61
Shoyagyoko	Japan	290		Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Urakawa	Japan	323	0.15	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Tomakomainishiko	Japan	397	0.09	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Soya	Japan	432	0.28	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Muroran	Japan	458	0.06	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Yamasedomarigyoko	Japan	465	0.07	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Hakodate	Japan	498	0.08	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Hachinohe	Japan	507	0.12	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Hachinohe (Kensetsukyoku)	Japan	509	0.04	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Kujiko	Japan	514	0.15	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Shimanokoshigyoko	Japan	530	0.13	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Taro	Japan	541	0.14	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Miyako	Japan	548	0.07	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Kamaishi	Japan	586	0.14	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Ofunato	Japan	615	0.04	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Kesennumagyoko	Japan	633	0.12	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Ayukawa	Japan	692	0.08	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Onahama	Japan	848	0.12	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Hitachiko	Japan	901	0.05	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Oaraiko	Japan	919	0.05	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Choshi	Japan	963	0.04	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)

Every tsunami in 1973 The 1900s Tsunamis of Russia 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 2061.