February 7, 1883 Tsunami: Brisbane, Australia
A tsunami of meteorological origin began at Brisbane, Australia on February 7, 1883. It killed 3 people.
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
The tsunami
- Date
- February 7, 1883
- Source
- Brisbane, Australia
- Cause
- Meteorological
- Runups recorded
- 0
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Erroneous entry
The toll
- Deaths
- 3
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
The first wave which broke on board the Corea is described by eyewitnesses as resembling a huge wall of chalk bearing down on the ship. The sea had not been extraordinarily heavy up till that time, and there was but little wind. The opinion has been put forward that it must have been a tidal wave, but this belief of those acquainted with the coast is that the heavy weather which has of late prevailed on the coast of New South Wales caused the swell to roll up along the coast. (reference #14291)
More
Every tsunami in 1883The 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 6133.