On August 16, 1976, at 16:11:07 UTC, a magnitude (Mw) 8.0 earthquake shook Mindanao Island in the Philippines. It caused a destructive tsunami in the Celebes Sea that devastated settlements along the coast of Moro Gulf on Mindanao Island, Zamboanga Peninsula and Sulu Islands. As a result of the earthquake and tsunami 4,000 to 8,000 persons were killed or missing, 10,000 were injured, and 90,000 were left homeless. 85% of the casualties may be attributed to the tsunami.

Mount Pinatubo is an andesitic island arc volcano, located on the southwestern part of the island of Luzon in the Philippines. Prior to 1991, it had been dormant for more than 635 years. After months of rumbling, the volcano stirred to life on April 2, 1991. The next two and a half months were marked by generally increasing volcanic and seismic activity at the site. On June 15, a cataclysmic eruption began with a tremendous explosion. This slide set shows the early stages of the eruption phase, the cataclysmic eruption of June 15, and the effects and aftermath of the eruption. Subsequent calamities caused by the ash, pyroclastic flows, mud flows, and flooding are also depicted.

On December 12, 1992, a magnitude 7.5 Ms (USGS) earthquake at 05:29 UT occurred in the Flores, Indonesia, region producing a tsunami that reached shore in five minutes. The source was a thrust fault dipping 32 degrees to the south and extending about 110 kilometers from Cape Batumanuk to Cape Bunga. The earthquake and tsunami caused at least 2,080 fatalities or missing people, including 1,490 in Maurnere, Flores, and 700 on Babi Island.

On June 2, 1994 at 18:17:34 UTC, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake occurred 200 km off the southeastern coast of Java. The earthquake occurred at night, and awoke only about 10 to 20% of the people. About 30 to 40 minutes after the earthquake, the waves (three distinct waves) began to arrive. Most of the people were still sleeping when the wave arrived, and the mostly-straw houses were washed away. About 223 people were killed, 15 were listed as missing, and 423 injured. The tsunami destroyed 1,500 homes, and 278 boats. The most affected districts were Lumajang, Jember, and Banyuwangi. Most of the fatalities and damage was caused by a tsunami at the villages of Pancer, Lampon, and Rajekwesi in the Banyuwangi district, the most eastern of the districts.

The tsunami generated by a magnitude 7.9 (Mw) earthquake destroyed 700 boats and 59 houses for a total of $800 million in property damage in Japan (1983 dollars). One hundred and four people drowned in Japan and three drowned in Korea.

On July 12, 1993, a magnitude 7.6 Ms (7.7 Mw) (HRV) earthquake at 13:17 UT in the Sea of Japan near Hokkaido caused a back-arc tsunami that caused damage in all of the countries bordering the Sea of Japan. The earthquake had a rupture length of 150 kilometers, a movement of 2.5 meters and a dip to the east of 24 degrees. The tsunami was 32 meters high on Okishuri, Island, where the most destruction occurred. The whole island subsided by 5-80 centimeters.

Two earthquakes occurred in the morning on Hawaii Island. The first earthquake (3 hours 36 minutes local time, 5.1 Ms, epicenter near the Kilauea crater) awakened the entire population of the island. The second earthquake (4 hours 48 minutes local time, 7.2 Ms, off the southeast coast) caused damage (IX) at Hilo and damage (VIII) at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. In many places houses were severely damaged, roads were breached and became unusable due to landslides; electric power lines were broken. Maximum subsidence 3.5 meters along the southeast coast. Maximum width of ground cracks 1 meter in the park. There was a brief eruption of the Kilauea Volcano. The second earthquake generated a locally damaging submarine landslide tsunami that was recorded at tide gauge stations in Alaska, California, Galapagos Islands, Peru, and Chile.

At least 116 people killed, more than 68 missing and over 13,500 left homeless in Nicaragua. At least 1,300 houses and 185 fishing boats were destroyed along the west coast of Nicaragua.

The December 26, 2004 magnitude 9.1 Sumatra, Indonesia earthquake (3.316 N, 95.854 E, depth 30 km) generated a tsunami that was observed worldwide and caused tremendous devastation and deaths throughout the Indian Ocean region. The earthquake, which is the third largest in the world since 1900, caused severe damage and casualties in northern Sumatra, Indonesia, and in the Nicobar Islands, India. The tsunami that followed killed more people than any other tsunami in recorded history, with 227,898 dead or missing. The total estimated material losses in the Indian Ocean region were $10 billion and insured losses were $2 billion.

The magnitude 7.4 earthquake killed 26 and destroyed 3,018 houses and moderately or severely damaged 9,750 in Niigata prefecture.