May 31, 1759 Tsunami: Dorset, England, United Kingdom
A tsunami of meteorological origin began at Dorset, England, United Kingdom on May 31, 1759. Its effects were recorded at 1 place.
Where the waves reached
The source (white) and every runup with a place, colored by the water height recorded there. A ring is a runup NCEI marks doubtful.
- Under 1 m
- 1 to 3 m
- 3 to 10 m
- 10 to 30 m
- 30 m and more
- Height not recorded
The tsunami
- Date
- May 31, 1759
- Source
- Dorset, England, United Kingdom
- Cause
- Meteorological
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Questionable tsunami
The toll
The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this tsunami.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Lyme Regis 1759. On the 31 May 1759 Perrey (1849) reported that the sea … flowed in and out three times during an hour…. This is consistent with a typical period of a meteotsunami, but in the absence of any corroborating evidence, there is still uncertainty about this event. (reference #14269)
1759 May 31. Dawson et al., (2000) quote Perrey (1849) as saying that an unusual coastal flood took place at Lyme Regis on 31st May 1759 where the sea “…flowed in and out three times during an hour…”. However no other account have been found to corroborate this report in neighbouring areas, nor is any earthquake noted for this date. This is first of a set of extreme marine floods events have been identified by Dawson et al (2000) who conducted extensive searches in SW England, only some of which have been attributed by them to past tsunamis. This event is considered a non-tsunami event. (reference #14326)
Every runup
Nearest the source first. Heights are above sea level at the time; a tide gauge reads half the wave’s full height.
| Where | Country | Km from source | Water height, m | Inland, m | Measured by | First wave, UTC | Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lyme Regis, England | United Kingdom | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1759The 1700sTsunamis of United KingdomThis day in weather historyAlerts in force
Sources
Tsunami events and runups from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI tsunami event 6097.