Approximately 12 minutes elapsed between a severe earthquake, clearly felt in most of Japan, and the tsunami impact on the west coast of Akita Prefecture, Honshu, Japan.
It was May 26, 1983 when an earthquake of 7.8 Mw magnitude (USGS) occurred at 3:00 a.m. UTC, in the central region of the Sea of Japan, located about 80 km offshore, generated a tsunami that caused one hundred casualties (four victims were caused by the earthquake), and considerable damage to coastal structures ( buildings), ports, ships and roads. The biggest run-up was recorded on the coast of Oga ( marked with a red icon on the map) and measured 14.9 m.
Tsunami affected the whole of the Japanese Sea and inflicted severe damage on the coast of South Korea, reached by waves an hour and a half after the earthquake. In Sokcho harbour, a +3.2 m run-up was recorded, followed by a retreat of the sea that brought the level down to -5.6 m. In South Korea there were three victims. There was also damage to the coast of Russia.
