September 27, 1762 Tsunami: The Thames, England, United Kingdom
A tsunami of unknown cause began at The Thames, England, United Kingdom on September 27, 1762. The water rose as high as 3 meters. 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
- September 27, 1762
- Source
- The Thames, England, United Kingdom
- Cause
- Unknown
- Maximum water height
- 3 m (9.8 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Tsunami magnitude (Iida)
- 1.6
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Very doubtful tsunami
- Source location
- 51.500° N, 0.100° E
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.
Reference #1879: "On the 27th of September the Thames rose suddenly in the midst of a dead calm, and dashed the ships violently against one another." Reference #43 states that no shock was mentioned.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thames, England | United Kingdom | 0 | 3 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1762The 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 473.