December 3, 1995 Tsunami: S. Kuril Islands, Russia

Name: December 3, 1995 Tsunami: S. Kuril Islands, Russia
Start: 1995-12-03
Location: S. Kuril Islands, Russia

December 3, 1995 · 1.1 m · Definite tsunami

A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7.9 earthquake began at S. Kuril Islands, Russia on December 3, 1995 at 18:01:08 UTC. The water rose as high as 1.1 meters. Its effects were recorded at 38 places in at least 6 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: December 3, 1995, 18:01:08 UTC
Source: S. Kuril Islands, Russia
Cause: Earthquake
Earthquake: Magnitude 7.9, 33 km deep
Maximum water height: 1.1 m (3.6 ft)
Runups recorded: 38
Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura): 0.5
Tsunami magnitude (Iida): 0.1
Waters: Ocean
How certain: Definite tsunami
Source location: 44.663° N, 149.300° E

The toll

The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this tsunami.

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
Nemuroko	Japan	332	0.19	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Hanasaki	Japan	337	0.2	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Abashiri	Japan	406	0.07	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Kushiro	Japan	438	0.13	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Urakawa	Japan	597	0.19	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Hakodate	Japan	769	0.09	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Hachinohe	Japan	785	0.15	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Miyako	Japan	821	0.13	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Ofunato	Japan	886	0.11	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Ayukawa	Japan	960	0.11	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Onahama	Japan	1,112	0.09	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Choshi	Japan	1,221	0.04	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Mera	Japan	1,350	0.12	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Yaene, Hachijo Island	Japan	1,525	0.1	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Shemya Island, AK, AK	United States	2,020	0.1	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Chichijima Island	Japan	2,050	0.23	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Adak, Sweeper Cove, AK, AK	United States	2,625	0.05	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Wake Island, UM	US Territories	3,240	0.07	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Midway Islands, HI	US Territories	3,466	0.22	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Kahului, Maui, HI, HI	United States	5,596	0.1	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Hilo, Hawaii, HI, HI	United States	5,792	0.06	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Winter Harbor, British Columbia, BC	Canada	5,923	0.06	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)	day 4, 03:14
Tofino (Clayoquot),british Columbia, BC	Canada	6,130	0.05	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)	day 4, 02:35
Port Alberni, British Columbia, BC	Canada	6,195	0.19	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)	day 4, 03:11
Bamfield, British Columbia, BC	Canada	6,197	0.05	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)	day 4, 02:38
Neah Bay, WA, WA	United States	6,257	0.04	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Victoria, British Columbia, BC	Canada	6,332	0.03	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)	day 4, 03:03
Charleston, OR, OR	United States	6,586	0.02	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Port Orford, OR, OR	United States	6,604	0.04	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Crescent City, CA, CA	United States	6,687	0.14	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Arena Cove, CA, CA	United States	6,903	0.04	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Point Reyes, CA, CA	United States	7,016	0.03	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Port Vila, Efate Island	Vanuatu	7,176	0.05	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)	day 4, 04:30
Port San Luis, CA, CA	United States	7,365	0.07	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Santa Barbara, CA, CA	United States	7,495	0.03	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Pago Pago, American Samoa, AS	US Territories	7,678	0.05	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Nuku Hiva Island, Marquesas Islands	French Polynesia	9,205	0.04	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Papeete, Tahiti	French Polynesia	9,253	0.04	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)

Every tsunami in 1995 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 2257.