In the early 1970s , the Intelligence Agency of the State Oceanic Administration ( SOA ) had researched tsunami and earthquake history . Past earthquakes in China , such as the 1975 Haicheng earthquake , the 1976 Tangshan earthquake , and several large earthquakes that occurred in the Bohai Sea , did not cause any noticeable tsunamis . This has led to the spread of claims in Mainland China that there have been no destructive earthquake-generated tsunamis in China . According to research on Chinese and regional tsunami history , however , China is considered to have frequent earthquake-generated tsunamis . China has the most deaths caused by tsunamis out of any country , accounting for one-third of all global tsunami-caused deaths
1976 Tangshan earthquake
1976 Tangshan earthquake
Tsunami Advisory Center of the Ministry of National Resources