Tsunamis in 1891

June 22, 1891 Tsunami: New Zealand

June 22, 1891 · Questionable tsunami

A tsunami caused by an earthquake began at New Zealand on June 22, 1891 at 23:00 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

Tsunami warnings in force

Travel times

How long the first wave took to reach each part of the ocean, one line for each hour up to 24, estimated from the source and the depth of the sea.

The travel times are computed in your browser, which needs JavaScript.

  • 1 to 4 hours
  • 5 to 6 hours
  • 7 to 14 hours
  • 15 hours and more

Computed in your browser the way NOAA’s own travel time maps are: the wave travels at the square root of gravity times the depth, over NOAA’s ETOPO1 depths averaged to a 10 arc-minute grid. Checked against NOAA NCEI’s maps for 21 tsunamis over the first 24 hours, these lines fall within 10 minutes of NCEI’s at half the points compared and within 52 minutes at 9 in 10. They give when the first wave could arrive, not how high it is; bays, harbors and island chains finer than the grid can see it later. Not for use in a warning: see tsunami.gov.

The tsunami

Date
June 22, 1891, 23:00 UTC
Source
New Zealand
Cause
Earthquake
Earthquake
The earthquake
Runups recorded
1
Waters
Ocean
How certain
Questionable tsunami
Source location
37.400° S, 174.400° 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.

1891, June 22, 18:40, Epicenter Waikato Heads, reliability index. 0.5. Following an earthquake located offshore from the mouth of the Waikato River, the local Maori population reported that the water within Aotea Harbour was greatly agitated and large waves were observed entering the harbour.

Nothing appears to have been noticed at Raglan or Manakau

Harbours. Official reports from Manakau Harbour make no mention of unusual tides. The weather appears to have been fine for at least four days prior to the earthquake. (reference #2713)

The natives say that at that time [of the earthquake on June 23] the waters of Aotea Harbour were agitated with large waves rolling in." (Waikato Times 27 June 1891) (reference #5324)

Every runup

Nearest the source first. Heights are above sea level at the time; a tide gauge reads half the wave’s full height.

WhereCountryKm from sourceWater height, mInland, mMeasured byFirst wave, UTCDeaths
Aotea (Inlet)New Zealand

More

Every tsunami in 1891The 1800sTsunamis of New ZealandThe 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 2026-10-01. NCEI tsunami event 1188.