Historic Tsunami

1971 Papua New Guinea Tsunami

26 July 1971 · Solomon Sea · Papua New Guinea

On 26 July 1971 at 01:23 UTC, a tsunami formed near Solomon Sea, Papua New Guinea. It was caused by a magnitude 8.1 earthquake. Waves reached up to 10.0 m high. It was observed at 39 locations in 7 countries or territories, up to 10,182 km from its source.

Date

26 July 1971

Time

01:23 UTC

Cause

Earthquake

Earthquake Magnitude

8.1

Highest Wave

10.0 m

Observation Sites

39

Furthest Reach

10,182 km

Estimated Damage

1 million US dollars

Source Country

Papua New Guinea

Triggering Earthquake

M 8.1, 1971

Countries and Territories Reached

Number of observations, highest wave and deaths in each country.

• 10Papua New Guinea · 10.0 m
• 1Solomon Islands · 3.0 m
• 1Marshall Islands, Rep. Of · 0.2 m
• 14Japan · 0.1 m
• 11United States of America · 0.1 m
• 1Federated States of Micronesia · 0.1 m
• 1Canada

Highest Waves

• 10.0 mMetlik, South Coast, New Ireland · Papua New Guinea · 29 km
• 8.0 mWide Bay (Se Shore, New Britain) · Papua New Guinea · 124 km
• 3.0 mRabaul, New Britain · Papua New Guinea · 135 km
• 0.6 mKavieng, New Ireland · Papua New Guinea · 278 km
• 0.4 mAnewa Bay, Bougainville · Papua New Guinea · 300 km
• 0.2 mKwajalein, Marshall Islands · Marshall Islands, Rep. Of · 2,207 km
• 0.2 mAlotau · Papua New Guinea · 673 km
• 0.1 mHanasaki-Kushimoto · Japan · 5,387 km
• 0.1 mOnahama · Japan · 4,800 km
• 0.1 mKushimoto · Japan · 4,622 km

Other Major Tsunamis in the Region

• 2017Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea · 0.0 m3 deaths
• 2000Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea · 3.0 m2 deaths
• 1994Papua New Guinea · 3.0 m4 deaths
• 1971Solomon Sea, Papua New Guinea · 6.0 m3 deaths
• 1941Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea · 0.2 m4 deaths
• 1937Rabaul, Papua New Guinea · 2.5 m507 deaths

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Tsunami Database (doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7) · Natural Earth