Scientists say a tsunami hit China 1,000 years ago – and there’s still a risk of a giant wave hitting today

A study by Chinese researchers has found that a tsunami almost wiped out civilisation in what is today’s Guangdong province about 1,000 years ago, highlighting the risk of destructive sea waves to the country’s coastal areas.

The academics who carried out the research have called on the Chinese government to take that risk into account in future planning – especially in relation to strategic facilities such as nuclear power plants and key infrastructure projects under the “Belt and Road Initiative”.

“This study confirms the risk of tsunamis in the South China Sea. Such risks should be considered in future planning and construction of nuclear power plants, harbours and petroleum reserve structures on the coastlines of China,” the researchers wrote in a paper published in the January issue of Chinese Science Bulletin.

China’s belt and road trade plan aims to link the country with Asia, Africa, Europe and beyond via land and sea, and Beijing has invested hugely in ports, railways, roads, power plants and other infrastructure projects overseas.

When an earthquake struck Japan nearly eight years ago, it triggered a tsunami which caused a meltdown of nuclear reactors at the Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima. Deemed the most severe nuclear incident since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, the catastrophe has greatly slowed down the development of nuclear power around the world.

The team from the University of Science and Technology of China and East China Normal University issued their warning about China’s coastline after years of studies and field research.

Led by Sun Liguang and Xie Zhouqing from the USTC, they concluded that a tsunami which originated in the South China Sea struck the coast of today’s Guangdong in AD1076.