Tsunamis: Papua New Guinea

A tsunami is a series of waves that starts when a large mass of water is suddenly displaced: by an earthquake under the sea, a landslide or an eruption. In the open ocean the wave is low and very fast; near the coast it slows down and rises. Choose a tsunami on the map to see how far it reached.

Tsunamis: NOAA NCEI, Global Historical Tsunami Database (definite or probable tsunamis only). Plates: Bird (2003), version by H. Ahlenius (ODC-BY). Relief: GEBCO Compilation Group (2026) GEBCO 2026 Grid. Map: © Protomaps, © OpenStreetMap.

The words

Tsunami
A Japanese word meaning “harbour wave”. It is not a wind wave: it moves all the water, from the bottom to the surface, and so it reaches the coast with enormous force, often in several waves minutes apart.
Arrival point (runup)
The point on the coast where the wave was observed or measured, with the height reached by the water. A large tsunami has hundreds, even on the other side of the ocean.
Water height
How high the water reached above sea level. The greatest heights occur in fjords and narrow bays, when a landslide falls straight into the water.
Warning
If the ground shakes hard near the sea, or the sea suddenly withdraws, go to high ground at once, without waiting for the alarm. In the Pacific and Indian Oceans there are warning systems with buoys and seismographs.
sea level arrival point water height In the open ocean the wave is low, very long and very fast Near the coast the sea floor rises: the wave slows and grows sea floor
In the open ocean a tsunami travels as fast as a jet plane and a ship hardly notices it (NOAA). When the sea floor rises, the wave slows down, the water piles up and the wave grows; then it moves inland up to the arrival point. Water height is measured from normal sea level.

Papua New Guinea

Deaths on its coasts since 1900
2,234
Tsunamis that reached it since 1900
26
Tsunamis started here since 1900
53

Deaths: those recorded at the arrival points along the country’s coasts (for the place, the site’s borders within 50 km). Tsunamis arrived: those with at least one death or with water at least one metre high on its coasts. Tsunamis started here: by NOAA country of origin. Definite or probable tsunamis only.

Tsunamis that hit this country

Date Source Cause Highest water here Deaths here On the map
17 July 1998 Papua New Guinea Earthquake 15 m 2,205
23 December 1930 Bismarck Sea Earthquake 12 m 27
6 March 1895 Solomon Sea Earthquake 6.0 m 27
14 July 1971 Solomon Sea Earthquake 6.0 m 1
31 October 1970 Papua New Guinea Earthquake 3.0 m 1
13 March 1888 Ritter Island Eruption 15 m 0
19 May 2007 Ritter Island, Papua New Guinea Eruption 10 m 0
26 July 1971 Solomon Sea Earthquake 10 m 0
8 September 2002 Bismarck Sea Earthquake 5.5 m 0
1 April 2007 Solomon Islands (Solomon Islands) Earthquake 3.5 m 0
16 November 2000 Bismarck Sea Earthquake 3.0 m 0
18 September 1994 Papua New Guinea Eruption 3.0 m 0
17 September 1900 Rabaul Harbor Earthquake 3.0 m 0
29 May 1937 Rabaul Eruption 2.5 m 0
4 November 1952 Kamchatka (Russia) Earthquake 2.4 m 0

Tsunamis started here

Date Source Cause Highest water Deaths On the map
17 July 1998 Papua New Guinea Earthquake (M 7.0) 15 m 1,636
23 December 1930 Bismarck Sea Earthquake (M 6.5) 12 m 27
31 October 1970 Papua New Guinea Earthquake (M 7.3) 3.0 m 3
20 April 1999 Kasu Cone Landslide 15 m 1
14 July 1971 Solomon Sea Earthquake (M 7.9) 6.0 m 1
9 February 2018 Kadovar Island, Papua New Guinea Eruption 1.0 m –
5 May 2015 New Britain Earthquake (M 7.5) 1.0 m –
19 May 2007 Ritter Island, Papua New Guinea Eruption 10 m –
8 September 2002 Bismarck Sea Earthquake (M 7.6) 5.5 m –
16 November 2000 Bismarck Sea Earthquake (M 8.0) 3.0 m –
18 September 1994 Papua New Guinea Eruption 3.0 m –
8 February 1987 Solomon Sea Earthquake (M 7.4) 1.5 m –
3 July 1985 New Ireland Earthquake (M 7.3) 1.3 m –
20 July 1975 Solomon Sea Earthquake (M 7.9) 2.0 m –
26 August 1972 Solomon Sea Landslide 1.5 m –

The world

Definite or probable tsunamis
1,699
Since 1900
1,172
Arrival points recorded
32,981
Deaths since 1900
297,147

NOAA NCEI up to 9 October 2026. Tsunamis judged questionable, very doubtful or erroneous are not counted.

What causes them

Most tsunamis are caused by an earthquake under the sea, when the sea floor suddenly rises or drops. Landslides give very high waves that travel less far.

05001,0001,500TsunamisEarthquake: 1,339EarthquakeLandslide: 131LandslideEruption: 103EruptionWeather: 76WeatherOther (explosion, tide): 2Other (explosion, tide)Unknown: 48Unknown

How many tsunamis per decade

In recent decades more are counted mainly because there are more instruments to see them, such as open-ocean buoys and tide gauges.

050100150200Tsunamis1900–09: 631900–091910–19: 461910–191920–29: 541920–291930–39: 751930–391940–49: 461940–491950–59: 711950–591960–69: 961960–691970–79: 871970–791980–89: 781980–891990–99: 1021990–992000–09: 1392000–092010–19: 1892010–192020–29: 1262020–29

Source: NOAA NCEI, definite or probable tsunamis. The 2020s up to today.

The deadliest tsunamis

Deaths from the tsunami, without those from the earthquake or eruption that caused it. For ancient ones they are uncertain estimates.

Date Source Country Cause Highest water Deaths On the map
26 December 2004 Off W. Coast of Sumatra Indonesia Earthquake (M 9.1) 51 m 227,899
1 November 1755 Lisbon Portugal Earthquake (M 8.5) 18 m 50,000
27 August 1883 Krakatau Indonesia Eruption 41 m 34,417
15 June 1896 Sanriku Japan Earthquake (M 8.3) 38 m 27,122
13 August 1868 Northern Chile Chile Earthquake (M 8.5) 18 m 25,000
11 March 2011 Honshu Island Japan Earthquake (M 9.1) 39 m 18,423
21 May 1792 Shimabara Bay, Kyushu Island Japan Eruption 55 m 15,000
24 April 1771 Ryukyu Islands Japan Earthquake (M 7.4) 85 m 13,486
4 November 1952 Kamchatka Russia Earthquake (M 9.0) 23 m 10,000
16 August 1976 Moro Gulf Philippines Earthquake (M 8.0) 9.0 m 6,800
30 December 1703 Off Sw Boso Peninsula Japan Earthquake (M 8.2) 12 m 5,233
21 July 365 Crete Greece Earthquake (M 8.0) – 5,000
20 September 1498 Enshunada Sea Japan Earthquake (M 8.3) 10 m 5,000
3 February 1605 Nankaido Japan Earthquake (M 7.9) 10 m 5,000
2 December 1611 Sanriku Japan Earthquake (M 8.1) 25 m 5,000

The highest tsunamis

The maximum height reached by the water. The highest waves almost always come from landslides in fjords or reservoirs, as at Vajont in 1963.

Date Source Country Cause Highest water Deaths On the map
10 July 1958 Se. Alaska, AK United States of America Earthquake (M 7.8) 525 m 5
10 August 2025 Tracy Arm, AK United States of America Landslide 481 m –
18 May 1980 Washington United States of America Eruption 250 m –
9 October 1963 Vajont Dam, Vajont River Italy Landslide 235 m 2,000
16 September 2023 Dickson Fjord, Greenland Greenland Landslide 200 m –
18 October 2015 Taan Fjord, AK United States of America Landslide 193 m –
1 September 2022 Ecstall River, BC Canada Landslide 170 m –
27 October 1936 Lituya Bay, AK United States of America Landslide 149 m –
13 October 2000 Altar Volcano Ecuador Eruption 125 m 13
1853 Lituya Bay, AK United States of America Landslide 120 m –
17 February 1674 Banda Sea Indonesia Earthquake (M 6.8) 100 m 2,244
28 July 1987 Valtellina Italy Landslide 95 m 22
1610 BC Thera Island (Santorini) Greece Eruption 90 m –
29 August 1741 W. Hokkaido Island Japan Eruption 90 m 2,000
17 June 2017 Karrat Fjord, Greenland Greenland Landslide 90 m 4

The top ten countries

Most deaths on the coasts since 1900

  1. Indonesia 177,310
  2. Sri Lanka 35,332
  3. India 26,073
  4. Japan 20,226
  5. Thailand 8,212
  6. Philippines 4,857
  7. Russia 4,055
  8. Chile 2,826
  9. Papua New Guinea 2,234
  10. Dominican Republic 1,908

Most tsunamis started here since 1900

  1. Japan 184
  2. United States of America 101
  3. Indonesia 79
  4. Russia 76
  5. Papua New Guinea 53
  6. Philippines 47
  7. Chile 44
  8. Solomon Islands 42
  9. Greece 41
  10. Mexico 41

All countries

Country Deaths on the coasts Tsunamis arrived Tsunamis started here
Indonesia 177,310 45 79
Sri Lanka 35,332 3 0
India 26,073 3 6
Japan 20,226 49 184
Thailand 8,212 1 0
Philippines 4,857 22 47
Russia 4,055 31 76
Chile 2,826 24 44
Papua New Guinea 2,234 26 53
Dominican Republic 1,908 4 4
Myanmar 650 2 1
Colombia 645 3 4
Somalia 572 1 0
United States of America 380 59 101
Samoa 358 7 8
Italy 295 10 24
El Salvador 185 2 4
Norway 174 11 21
Maldives 149 1 0
Puerto Rico * 140 1 3
Malaysia 137 1 0
Peru 134 14 15
Solomon Islands 123 17 42
Nicaragua 96 2 4
Mexico 80 18 41
Canada 71 11 21
Tanzania 23 1 0
Tonga 16 4 13
East Timor 11 2 0
Greece 11 20 41
Madagascar 8 2 0
Fiji 5 2 4
Greenland * 5 6 8
Turkey 5 7 11
Vanuatu 5 10 35
Argentina 4 2 6
Ecuador 4 4 7
Pakistan 4 1 2
Costa Rica 3 5 11
French Polynesia * 3 13 2
Haiti 3 1 2
South Africa 3 3 2
South Korea 3 4 2
Yemen 3 1 0
Bangladesh 2 1 0
Iran 2 4 2
Kenya 2 2 1
Seychelles 2 1 0
France 1 10 12
Montenegro 1 1 1
Spain 1 3 8
Vietnam 1 1 1
Albania 0 0 1
Algeria 0 0 6
American Samoa * 0 4 0
Antigua and Barbuda 0 0 0
Australia 0 7 18
Barbados 0 1 0
Brazil 0 2 9
British Virgin Islands * 0 0 0
Bulgaria 0 1 1
Cameroon 0 2 2
China 0 5 21
Comoros 0 1 0
Cook Islands * 0 0 0
Croatia 0 2 4
Cuba 0 0 1
Cyprus 0 0 1
Denmark 0 0 0
Dominica 0 1 0
Egypt 0 1 2
Federated States of Micronesia 0 0 1
Finland 0 0 1
Germany 0 0 0
Ghana 0 0 1
Grenada 0 0 0
Guam * 0 3 2
Guatemala 0 1 4
Honduras 0 0 3
Hong Kong * 0 1 0
Iceland 0 2 2
Ireland 0 0 0
Israel 0 1 0
Jamaica 0 1 1
Jordan 0 0 1
Malta 0 1 0
Mauritius 0 1 0
Montserrat * 0 3 4
Morocco 0 0 1
Nepal 0 0 1
Netherlands 0 1 1
New Caledonia * 0 10 24
New Zealand 0 13 41
North Korea 0 2 0
Northern Mariana Islands * 0 1 2
Oman 0 2 0
Palestine 0 1 0
Panama 0 2 4
Portugal 0 0 5
Republic of the Congo 0 0 1
Saint Barthélemy * 0 0 0
Saint Lucia 0 1 0
Saint Martin * 0 0 0
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 0 0 2
Sint Maarten * 0 0 0
Sweden 0 1 1
Switzerland 0 0 1
Taiwan * 0 1 16
Togo 0 0 1
Trinidad and Tobago 0 0 1
Ukraine 0 1 3
United Kingdom 0 0 8
United States Virgin Islands * 0 0 0
Uruguay 0 0 0
Venezuela 0 3 5
Wallis and Futuna * 0 1 1

* Territory or country that is not one of the 195 UN states (members and observers): it appears with its data, but not in the rankings and in the “top ten” lists.

Since 1900, definite or probable tsunamis only. Source: NOAA NCEI.

The indicators

Sources: NOAA NCEI, Global Historical Tsunami Database (doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7, public domain); P. Bird (2003), version by H. Ahlenius (ODC-BY).

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