November 10, 1932 Tsunami: Willetts Point, New York, United States
A tsunami of meteorological origin began at Willetts Point, New York, United States on November 10, 1932. The water rose as high as 5.4 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
The tsunami
- Date
- November 10, 1932
- Source
- Willetts Point, New York, United States
- Cause
- Meteorological
- Earthquake
- The earthquake
- Maximum water height
- 5.4 m (17.7 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Erroneous entry
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.
Doubtful tsunami. Lockridge (Reference #541) report "an invasion of the sea to a height of 5.4 meters at Willetts Point, New York, from 6:30 p.m. EST to 9:40 p.m. on November 11th." Their source is International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (Reference #1738). Information from the Greater Astoria Historical Society (Reference #1740) states, "A driving rain and wind storm left widespread damage throughout Queens and Long Island, disrupting traffic and train service, swamping waterfront communities and flooding practially all principal highways." A great amount of damage and several deaths were attributed this storm. It is very likely that the sea height anomaly may be attributed to this storm, rather than a tsunami.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willetts Point, NY, NY | United States | 5.4 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1932The 1900sTsunamis 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 2455.