Before 2004 , the tsunami created in both Indian and Pacific Ocean waters by the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa , thought to have resulted in anywhere from 36,000 to 120,000 deaths , had probably been the deadliest in the region . In 1782 about 40,000 people are thought to have been killed by a tsunami ( or a cyclone ) in the South China Sea . The most deadly tsunami before 2004 was Italy 's 1908 Messina earthquake on the Mediterranean Sea where the earthquake and tsunami killed about 123,000
1908 Messina earthquake
1908 Messina earthquake
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami