The 1792 Unzen earthquake and tsunami resulted from the volcanic activities of Mount Unzen on 21 May. This caused the collapse of the southern flank of the Mayuyama dome in front of Mount Unzen, resulting in a tremendous megatsunami, killing 15,000 people altogether. It was also called Shimabara erupted, Higo affected, since many people were killed by this tsunami in Higo. , Mount Unzen in the center, Kumamoto Prefecture and Amakusa islands were affected by tsunami
Volcanic activities
Towards the end of 1791, a series of earthquakes occurred on the western flank of Mount Unzen which gradually moved towards Fugen-dake. In February 1792, Fugen-dake started to erupt, triggering a lava flow which continued for two months. Meanwhile, the earthquakes continued, shifting nearer to the city of Shimabara. On the night of 21 May, two large earthquakes were followed by a collapse of the eastern flank of Mount Unzen's Mayuyama dome, causing a landslide which swept through the city of Shimabara and into Ariake Bay, triggering a great tsunami.
Megatsunami
It is not known to this day whether the collapse occurred as a result of an eruption of the dome or as a result of the earthquakes. The tsunami struck Higo Province on the other side of Ariake Bay before bouncing back and hitting Shimabara again. Out of an estimated total of 15,000 fatalities, around 5,000 are thought to have been killed by the landslide, around 5,000 by the tsunami across the bay in Higo Province, and a further 5,000 by the tsunami returning to strike Shimabara. The waves reached a height of, classing this tsunami as a small megatsunami. At the Osaki-bana point Futsu town, the waves locally grew to a height of due to the effect of seabottom topography.
Monuments
As of July, 1991, the following monuments have been found.
Lake Shirachi is a pond in Shimabara city, Nagasaki Prefecture which was created after the landslide at Mayuyama created by the inpouring of underground water. Its size was first 1 km and 300m 400m, but the production of a water exit river made it smaller and it is now 200 m by 70 m.
Tsukumojima (99 Islets)
As a result of the destruction, Tsukumojima or 99 islets or rocks were distributed near Shimabara city. In the same Nagasaki Prefecture, there are 99 islands or Kujūkushima distributed from Sasebo city to Hirado city. These islands are different from Tsukumojima.
