November 23, 2008 Tsunami: Wu Gorge, Wushan County, China
A tsunami caused by a landslide began at Wu Gorge, Wushan County, China on November 23, 2008. The water rose as high as 13.1 meters. Its effects were recorded at 1 place.
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 23, 2008
- Source
- Wu Gorge, Wushan County, China
- Cause
- Landslide
- Maximum water height
- 13.1 m (43.0 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Waters
- A lake or river, not the ocean
- How certain
- Probable tsunami
- Source location
- 31.065° N, 109.920° E
The toll
- Damage
- $746,000
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.
At 4:40p.m. on November 23, 2008, the Gongjiafang slope collapsed on the north bank of Yangtze River in Wu Gorge of Three Gorges Reservoir.
At the time of the first landslide, the altitude of the still water level in the reservoir was 172.8 m. The run-up height of the wave generated by that landslide reached a maximum of 13.1 m and decreased as it propagated up through the reservoir, declining to 1- 2 m in Wushan County, 4 km upstream of the landslide. The wave generated by the Gongjiafang landslide is the most significant impulse wave incident to ever happen in the main stream of Yangtze River after the impoundment of Three Gorges Reservoir and is, thus, of concern to local authorities and has attracted the attention of researchers.
The run-up height of the impulse wave at 300 m upstream of Gongjiafang north shore and at 4 km upstream of the landslide mass were 13.1 and 1.1 m, respectively. The wave persisted in the reservoir for about half an hour. At Hengshixi Cement Plant, 6 km downstream of the landslide, the run-up height of the impulse wave was 2.1 m. Navigation lights and other facilities on the reservoir shores, as well as the hulls of a many tour vessels were damaged to varying degrees by the impulse wave, resulting in a direct economic loss of RMB five million.
(above from reference #9817)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wushan | China | 0 | 13.1 | Runup height, post-tsunami survey |
More
Every tsunami in 2008The 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 5701.