March 22, 1978 Tsunami: S. Kuril Islands, Russia
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 6.7 earthquake began at S. Kuril Islands, Russia on March 22, 1978 at 00:50:32 UTC. The water rose as high as 0.07 meters. Its effects were recorded at 2 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
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
- March 22, 1978, 00:50:32 UTC
- Source
- S. Kuril Islands, Russia
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 6.7, 33 km deep
- Maximum water height
- 0.07 m (0.2 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 2
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- -2.5
- Tsunami magnitude (Iida)
- 0.1
- Warning
- Local Tsunami Warning issued by a regional or national warning center
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 44.026° N, 149.002° 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 22, 1978. At the end of March 1978, a long series of earthquakes occurred east of Iturup Island, many of which had a magnitude exceeding 7.0. From 00 hr 50 min of March 22 to 19 hr 43 min of March 24 there were as many as seven earthquakes ranging in magnitude from 7.0 to 8.0. This many
great earthquakes occurring in succession is unusual. It is also noteworthy that five of the seven earthquakes produced weak tsunamis. The first earthquake occurred at 11 hr 32 min (Sakhalin time) at a magnitude of 7.5. It was not felt in the Kuril Islands where a tsunami warning was issued although no sea level oscillations were seen. A tsunami at a height of 7 cm was recorded in Malokuril'skoye. The travel time of the wave was 37 min and its period 20 min. March.22; 00h 50m 31 s; 43.8' N. Lat., 149.2' E. Long.; 37 km, M = 7.5; I = -2 1/2. (reference #417)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malokuril'Skaya Bay, Shikotan | Russia | 176 | 0.07 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 22, 01:28 | ||
| Hanasaki | Japan | 289 | 0.05 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) |
More
Every tsunami in 1978The 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 2097.