October 10, 2018 Tsunami: Baige (Jinsha River), China

Reference #13953:

The maximum velocity of the landslide-generated wave and the maximum run-up in the Jinsha River reached 45 m/s and 53.9 m, respectively, on the slide axis. The maximum run-up terrain elevation of the wave was 3039.7 m.

In the early morning, 11th October 2018, the Baige landslide (98° 43′ 01″ E, 31° 4′ 51″ N) suddenly detached on the right bank of the Jinsha River in Baiyu County, Tibet, Southwest China (Fig. 1). More than 1.5 × 107 m3 of rock crashed into the Jinsha River, completely blocked the channel and formed a landslide dam with an average height of 80 m (Fig. 2b). The water level rapidly increased by 36 m upstream. Four hydropower stations under construction were located downstream of the Baige landslide

The maximum terrain elevation that the wave reaches occurred at a horizontal run-out distance of 2450 m on the slide axis in profile 1-1, which was approximately 3039.7 m when t = 45 s, and the relative initial run-up height on the opposite bank was 53.9 m. In addition, the downstream initial run-up height of 42.3 m was higher than the upstream height of 35.2 m.

Reference #13948:

The maximum terrain elevation that the wave reaches occurred at a horizontal run-out distance of 2450 m on the slide axis in profile 1-1, which was approximately 3039.7 m when t = 45 s, and the relative initial run-up height on the opposite bank was Based on the maximum elevation of the landslide-generated wave on the left bank (approximately 3040–3050 m above water level) and the initial average elevation of the river surface (2910 m), the wave reached a height of at least 130 m.

Note: runups not included in historical database due to lack of instrumental recording or eyewitness accounts, as noted by reference #13953 “the Baige landslide occurred in uninhabited areas, there were no data recorded and no witnesses.”