October 18, 1995 Tsunami: Ryukyu Islands, Japan

Name: October 18, 1995 Tsunami: Ryukyu Islands, Japan
Start: 1995-10-18
Location: Ryukyu Islands, Japan

October 18, 1995 · 2.59 m · Definite tsunami

A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7.1 earthquake began at Ryukyu Islands, Japan on October 18, 1995 at 10:37:26 UTC. The water rose as high as 2.59 meters. Its effects were recorded at 42 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

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: October 18, 1995, 10:37:26 UTC
Source: Ryukyu Islands, Japan
Cause: Earthquake
Earthquake: Magnitude 7.1, 28 km deep
Maximum water height: 2.59 m (8.5 ft)
Runups recorded: 42
Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura): 1.5
Tsunami magnitude (Iida): 0.8
Waters: Ocean
How certain: Definite tsunami
Source location: 27.929° N, 130.175° E

The toll

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

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.

October 18, 1995. A magnitude 6.9 Ms (Mw 6.9) (USGS) earthquake at 10:37 UT in the Ryukyu Islands, Japan, caused one injury on Amami O-shima, Japan. It generated a tsunami with a maximum height of 2.6 meters at Urabaru, a small fishery harbor on the southeastern side of Kikaishima

facing the epicenter, 2.4 meters at Kowase, 0.1 to 2.4 meters on Amami O-shima causing minor damage to some boats. It was recorded with a maximum height of 80 cm at Nakano-shima and 24 cm at Okada, and 18 cm at Chichijima. Validity 4. (reference #1315)

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
Urabaru, Kikai Island	Japan	44	2.59	Eyewitness observation of water height
Kamikatetsu, Kikai Island	Japan	44	2.29	Eyewitness observation of water height
Keraji, Kikai Island	Japan	44	1.43	Eyewitness observation of water height
Aden, Kikai Island	Japan	45	0.85	Eyewitness observation of water height
Araki, Kikai Island	Japan	47	0.8	Eyewitness observation of water height
Soumachi, Kikai Island	Japan	48	1.37	Eyewitness observation of water height
Shishioke, Kikai Island	Japan	49	1.4	Eyewitness observation of water height
Sakamine, Kikai Island	Japan	49	0.65	Eyewitness observation of water height
Onotsu, Kikai Island	Japan	50	0.65	Eyewitness observation of water height
Kominato, Amami Island	Japan	76	1.35	Eyewitness observation of water height
Ishi, Amami Island	Japan	78	1.06	Eyewitness observation of water height
Kowase, Amami Island	Japan	80	2.38	Eyewitness observation of water height
Kodama, Amami Island	Japan	80	1.07	Eyewitness observation of water height
Shiro, Amami Island	Japan	81	1.41	Eyewitness observation of water height
Sekko, Amami Island	Japan	82	2.34	Eyewitness observation of water height
Naze	Japan	83	0.15	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Nakano Island	Japan	215	0.43
Naha	Japan	313	0.05	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Nishinoomote	Japan	321	0.19	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Makurazaki	Japan	370	0.29	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Kagoshima	Japan	407	0.02	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Aburatsu	Japan	422	0.13	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Hososhima	Japan	520	0.07	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Hirara	Japan	599	0.05	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Tosa-Shimizu	Japan	601	0.18	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Kochi	Japan	702	0.05	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Murotomisaki	Japan	705	0.12	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Kushimoto	Japan	816	0.11	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Uragami	Japan	830	0.06	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Owase	Japan	892	0.06	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Toba	Japan	963	0.05	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Omaezaki	Japan	1,065	0.06	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Yaene, Hachijo Island	Japan	1,084	0.18	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Yaene, Hachijo Island	Japan	1,084	0.18	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Kaminato, Hachijo Island	Japan	1,088	0.11	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Kozushima	Japan	1,102	0.23	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Minami-Izu	Japan	1,112	0.2	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Uchiura	Japan	1,140	0.05	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Okada	Japan	1,159	0.27	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Chichijima Island	Japan	1,191	0.2	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Mera	Japan	1,200	0.22	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Choshi	Japan	1,331	0.04	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)

Every tsunami in 1995 The 1900s Tsunamis of Japan 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 2253.