Tsunamis in 1869

August 11, 1869 Tsunami: Sydney Harbor, Australia

August 11, 1869 · Very doubtful tsunami

A tsunami of unknown cause began at Sydney Harbor, Australia on August 11, 1869.

Where the waves reached

The source of the tsunami. No runup with a place is recorded for it.

  • Under 1 m
  • 1 to 3 m
  • 3 to 10 m
  • 10 to 30 m
  • 30 m and more
  • Height not recorded

Tsunami warnings in force

The tsunami

Date
August 11, 1869
Source
Sydney Harbor, Australia
Cause
Unknown
Runups recorded
0
Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
-1
Waters
Ocean
How certain
Very doubtful tsunami
Source location
33.800° S, 151.300° 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.

August 11-17, 1879, unusual fluctuations in the sea level were recorded at Sydney. (reference #415)

Reference #2783 lists tide gauge observations in Sydney (?)

More

Every tsunami in 1869The 1800sTsunamis of AustraliaThis 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 1005.