June 18, 1871 Tsunami: Long Island, New York, United States
A tsunami caused by an earthquake began at Long Island, New York, United States on June 18, 1871 at 00:00:00 UTC. 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
- June 18, 1871, 00:00:00 UTC
- Source
- Long Island, New York, United States
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- The earthquake
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Questionable tsunami
- Source location
- 40.500° N, 73.900° W
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.
10 pm local time. The New York Times (Reference #1741) reported an earthquake shock "running in a direction forming almost a complete circle around the City of New York." The article said, "A storm raged on the Sound during the convulsion on terra firma." Woodworth (Reference #1742) explained that this did not mean a meteorological storm, but that the Sound waters were very disturbed by the quake. The article continues, "Long Island, in short, appears to have received the full benefit of the tidal wave, and various stories are told of honest citizens frightened almost out of their wits by the strange phenomenon..." Lockridge et. al (Reference #541) used this information to assign a validity 3 to this event.
There are no events listed (Reference #542) in the eastern United States close to this date. Therefore the event is given a validity 2.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long Island, NY, NY | United States | 0 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1871The 1800sTsunamis of United StatesThe earthquakeThis 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 2357.