February 28, 1979 Tsunami: SE. Alaska, AK, United States
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake and a landslide began at SE. Alaska, AK, United States on February 28, 1979 at 21:27:08 UTC. The water rose as high as 0.15 meters. Its effects were recorded at 2 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
- February 28, 1979, 21:27:08 UTC
- Source
- SE. Alaska, AK, United States
- Cause
- Earthquake and landslide
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 7.5, 15 km deep
- Maximum water height
- 0.15 m (0.5 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 2
- Tsunami magnitude (Iida)
- -1.7
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 60.691° N, 141.671° W
The toll
- 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.
1979, February 28, 2127 GMT. A magnitude 7.1 earthquake in southeastern Alaska generated a 6-inch wave at Sitka and a 2-inch wave at Yakutat. An amplitude of 30 centimeters is
reported in United States Earthquakes. 1979 (Stover and von Hake, 1981), but this is in error. Lahr et al. (1980) show that the main shock and aftershocks had epicenters on land north and northeast of Icy Bay and the aftershock zone did
not extend into Yakutat Bay, Icy Bay, or the ocean. Therefore it is probable that the small tsunami was caused by local landsliding. (reference #239)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yakutat, AK, AK | United States | 167 | 0.05 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Sitka, AK, AK | United States | 545 | 0.15 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) |
More
Every tsunami in 1979The 1900sTsunamis of United StatesThe 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 2111.