November 28, 2004 Tsunami: Hokkaido Island, Japan
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7 earthquake began at Hokkaido Island, Japan on November 28, 2004 at 18:32:14 UTC. The water rose as high as 0.12 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
- November 28, 2004, 18:32:14 UTC
- Source
- Hokkaido Island, Japan
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 7, 39 km deep
- Maximum water height
- 0.12 m (0.4 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 2
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 43.006° N, 145.119° E
The toll
- Injuries
- 24 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Houses damaged
- Few (about 1 to 50) 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hanasaki | Japan | 47 | 0.12 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 28, 18:54 | ||
| Kushiro | Japan | 61 | 0.07 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 28, 18:56 |
More
Every tsunami in 2004The 2000sTsunamis of JapanThe 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 2921.