April 12, 1910 Tsunami: Northern Australia
A tsunami caused by an earthquake began at Northern Australia on April 12, 1910 at 00:41 UTC. The water rose as high as 2.1 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
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
- April 12, 1910, 00:41 UTC
- Source
- Northern Australia
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- The earthquake
- Maximum water height
- 2.1 m (6.9 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Probable tsunami
- Source location
- 10.150° S, 132.450° E
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
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.
In connection with the report of an exceptionally high tide occurring at Port Darwin about April 11, it is interesting to note that the seismograph at the Adelaide Observatory shows that a submarine disturbance, whose centre was 200 or 300 miles northeast of Port Darwin, took place on April 12. The first preliminary tremor occurred at 10.3 a.m. The beginning of the principal portion was at 10.11 a.m., and the maximum phase was at 10.13 a.m., the amplitude being 1.75 millimetres. At the same time the cables between Port Darwin and Java were parted by the upheaval. (reference #14304)
An exceptionally high tide is reported from Port Darwin. Mr. H. A. Hunt, the Commonwealth meteorologist, states that the high tide appears to have been connected with a submarine disturbance to the north of Australia. He says that Mr. Linton, the postmaster at Port Darwin, makes the following report on the matter:- "An extraordinarily high tide occurred on or about April 11, rising from 5ft. to 7ft. higher than spring tide-mark. Both cables between Java and Port Darwin parted about this date." (reference #14305)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port Darwin | Australia | 310 | 2.1 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1910The 1900sTsunamis of AustraliaThe 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 6140.