August 19, 1931 Tsunami: Atlantic City, NJ, United States
A tsunami of meteorological origin began at Atlantic City, NJ, United States on August 19, 1931. The water rose as high as 3 meters. Its effects were recorded at 4 places. It killed 4 people.
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
- August 19, 1931
- Source
- Atlantic City, NJ, United States
- Cause
- Meteorological
- Maximum water height
- 3 m (9.8 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 4
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Very doubtful tsunami
- Source location
- 39.350° N, 74.417° W
The toll
- Deaths
- 4
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.
There was a sudden and brief onset of 3 m waves in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Newspaper reports (Reference #1743) say that the surf was rough that day and the waves rolled in shortly before noon. The waves arrived at high tide. There were other high wave events in the region; several people drowned. Seismographs recorded nothing. The weather bureau attributed the disturbance to a tropical storm north of Puerto Rico.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic City, NJ, NJ | United States | 0 | 3 | Eyewitness observation of water height | 3 | ||
| Wildwood, NJ, NJ | United States | 52 | Eyewitness observation of water height | 1 | |||
| Point Pleasant Beach, NJ, NJ | United States | 88 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Long Island, NY, NY | United States | 183 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1931The 1900sTsunamis of United StatesThis 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 2465.