Historical tsunamis · Jul 29, 2021, 6:15 AM UTC

2021 Kodiak Island, Ak tsunami

United States

The tsunami of Jul 29, 2021, 6:15 AM UTC originated near Kodiak Island, Ak (United States).

Key facts

Date
Jul 29, 2021, 6:15 AM UTC
Cause
Earthquake
Magnitude
M8.2
Depth
32 km
Maximum documented water height
0.42 m
Observation records
63
Countries affected
2

It was triggered by a magnitude 8.2 earthquake at a depth of 32 km.

The highest documented water height was 0.42 m (Old Harbor, Kodiak, Ak, United States).

63 observation sites in 2 countries are recorded.

Outside the source country, the earliest documented arrival was at Henslung Cove, British Columbia (Canada) after 2:24 h.

All tsunamis in United StatesRecord at NOAA/NCEI ↗

Map of observation sites

63

Each dot is a documented observation site; colour and size show the observed water height. The triangle marks the source.

Tsunami arrival times

Documented arrival times from the NOAA/NCEI database, showing the earliest recorded location per country. Coverage is incomplete: a country without an entry was not necessarily spared.

  1. 0:00 hEarthquake (origin) · Jul 29, 2021, 6:15 AM UTC
  2. 0:20 hUnited States · D46414 Bpr, SE of Chirikof Is, Ak · 0.05 m
  3. 2:24 hCanada · Henslung Cove, British Columbia · 0.05 m

60 places with a documented arrival time

Observations by country

CountryObservation recordsMaximum documented water heightDeathsEarliest arrival
United States390.42 m
Old Harbor, Kodiak, Ak		—0:20 h
Canada240.27 m
Port Alberni, British Columbia		—2:24 h

Highest documented water heights

15 / 63

Individual documented observations for this event. Heights come from different measurement types and sources; not every location has a measured height.

Location / stationObserved heightDistance from sourceCountry
Old Harbor, Kodiak, Ak · Ak0.42 m350 kmUnited States
Sand Point, Ak · Ak0.41 m169 kmUnited States
Alitak, Ak · Ak0.32 m278 kmUnited States
Port Alberni, British Columbia · Bc0.27 m2,329 kmCanada
Kodiak, Ak · Ak0.24 m423 kmUnited States
King Cove, Ak · Ak0.22 m287 kmUnited States
North Spit, Humboldt Bay, Ca · Ca0.22 m2,940 kmUnited States
Port San Luis, Ca · Ca0.21 m3,603 kmUnited States
Crescent City, Ca · Ca0.17 m2,867 kmUnited States
Kahului, Maui, Hi · Hi0.13 m3,824 kmUnited States
Hilo, Hawaii, Hi · Hi0.12 m3,958 kmUnited States
Point Reyes, Ca · Ca0.11 m3,237 kmUnited States
South Beach, Or · Or0.11 m2,665 kmUnited States
Winter Harbor, British Columbia · Bc0.11 m2,058 kmCanada
Yakutat, Ak · Ak0.11 m1,180 kmUnited States

More tsunamis in United States

Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Historical Tsunami Database. Confirmed events only. Deaths and damage are database estimates; older records are incomplete. Water heights come from different types of observation.