July 14, 2003 Tsunami: Qinggan River, Hubei Province, China
A tsunami caused by a landslide began at Qinggan River, Hubei Province, China on July 14, 2003. The water rose as high as 39 meters. Its effects were recorded at 1 place. It killed 24 people, counting the earthquake or eruption that caused it.
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
- July 14, 2003
- Source
- Qinggan River, Hubei Province, China
- Cause
- Landslide
- Maximum water height
- 39 m (128.0 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Waters
- A lake or river, not the ocean
- How certain
- Probable tsunami
- Source location
- 30.970° N, 110.605° E
The toll
- Deaths
- 11; 24 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Missing
- Few (about 1 to 50) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million); Severe (about $5 to $25 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.
Reference #13751:
The Qianjiangping landslide is located on the right bank of the Qinggan River, a tributary to the Three Gorges Reservoir, opposite to the location of Shazhenxi Town, Zigui County of Hubei Province, China. The landslide is 3 km from the intersection of the Qinggan River and Yangtze River. On July 14, 2003, when the water level of the Three Gorges Reservoir was 135 m above sea level (a.s.l.) lasting for about one month, the mass started to move and slid on a bedding plane, blocking the Qinggan River. The toe of the Qianjiangping landslide was at the elevation of 95–111 m a.s.l., the elevation of the trailing edge was 350–405 m a.s.l., the average length and thickness of the landslide were 1,000 m and about 35 m, respectively. The width of the sliding mass submerging in the water was about 500 m, and the landslide volume was 1.5×107 m3. The landslide mass slid into Qinggan River at a maximum speed of 16 m/s; the depth of the water where the landslide failed was about 45 m, and the submerged landslide volume was about 2.66×106 m.
The maximum imprint height that the impulse wave left on the opposite bank was 39 m; the height of the impulse wave near Qinggan River Bridge 1.2 km downstream from the landslide was 7.4 m; the height of the impulse wave at the estuary of Luogudong River, 1.6 km downstream from the landslide, was 6 m, and fishing boats capsized 1 km upstream from the mouth of Luogudong River. The impulse waves sank a total of 22 fishing boats, with 11 fishermen on board missing.
Reference #13951:
The Qianjiangping landslide occurred on July 13, 2003 when water level in the Three Gorges Reservoir in China reached 135 m a.s.l. for about 1 month. Thirteen people on the slope and 11 fishermen on boats in the nearby area were killed by this landslide and its wave.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qinggan River | China | 1 | 39 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 2003The 2000sTsunamis of ChinaThis 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 5916.