Alaska’s near-record landslide tsunami sent a wave 1,580 feet up the fjord walls – and left clues for building a warning system

The tsunami struck just 12 hours after a cruise ship had left the fjord, rattling the tourism industry.

By: Michael E. West, University of Alaska Fairbanks and Ezgi Karasözen, University of Alaska Fairbanks, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: May 6, 2026

Words: 1,296

Last Updated: 2 months, 3 weeks ago

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By Michael E. West, University of Alaska Fairbanks and Ezgi Karasözen, University of Alaska Fairbanks

On the evening of Aug. 9, 2025, passengers on the Hanse Explorer finished taking selfies and videos of the South Sawyer Glacier, and the ship headed back down the fjord. Twelve hours later, a landslide from the adjacent mountain unexpectedly collapsed into the fjord, initiating the second-highest tsunami in recorded history.

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