April 23, 1953 Tsunami: Rabaul, New Britain, Papua New Guinea

Name: April 23, 1953 Tsunami: Rabaul, New Britain, Papua New Guinea
Start: 1953-04-23
Location: Rabaul, New Britain, Papua New Guinea

April 23, 1953 · $13,000 · Very doubtful tsunami

A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7.4 earthquake began at Rabaul, New Britain, Papua New Guinea on April 23, 1953 at 16:24:34 UTC. Its effects were recorded at 2 places.

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

The tsunami

Date: April 23, 1953, 16:24:34 UTC
Source: Rabaul, New Britain, Papua New Guinea
Cause: Earthquake
Earthquake: Magnitude 7.4, 35 km deep
Runups recorded: 2
Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura): 0
Waters: Ocean
How certain: Very doubtful tsunami
Source location: 4.449° S, 152.868° E

The toll

Damage: $13,000 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.

Reference #414:

1953, April 23, 16:24:22 UTC, validity 1, 4.5 S, 153.3 E, magnitude 7.4. Tsunami event questionable, intensity 0. There was an earthquake in New Britain. Structures were damaged and fractures formed in the ground. There was a tsunami, which according to press reports, spread to the Hawaiian Islands. [23.IV; 16h24m22s; 4.5 S., 153.3 E.; M=7.4.]

Reference #99:

1953, April 24. The upheaval caused water to be sucked from Simpson harbour in which Rabaul nestles. It ebbed and flowed several times before the level became normal.

Reference #79:

1953, April 23, 16:24 UTC, 4 S, 154 E, magnitude 7.5 MS. Source area New Ireland, tsunami observation Indonesia?. Statement of damage in list of tsunamis published by Japan Meteorological Agency (Anon., 1961) is probably a mistake. There is no confirmation of anything except quake effects.

Reference #9333:

Big Quake in new Britain, Friday, April 24, 1953, Barrier Miner, New South Wales. Sydney: A severe earthquake centred in the middle of the island of New Britain, 2060 miles north of Sydney, was recorded today at the Riverview Observatory. Hawaii and other Pacific islands have been alerted to expect a tidal wave.

Reference #9332:

Quake Shakes Rabaul, April 25, 1953, The Mercury, Hobart, Tasmania. Canberra, Friday.--An earthquake described by U.S. seismologists as a "rip - snorter" occurred near Rabaul today, but no casualties resulted. Houses, tanks and power lines were damaged. There was no panic... Landslides brought trees to earth, smashing light and power lines and blocking roads. The epicentre of the upheaval was estimated within 30 miles and New Britain is still feeling reaction to a settling down somewhere under the sea. Water was sucked from Simpson Harbour, in which Rabaul nestles. It went and came back several times before the level became normal. An hour after the first shock at 2:30 a.m., water rose to an unusual height at Kokopo, beyond Blanche Bay, but quickly subsided.... It caused a tidal wave alert in Hawaii, but the warning was later cancelled. Another tremor shook Rabaul Town at 10 a.m.

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
Kokopo, New Britain	Papua New Guinea	68			Eyewitness observation of water height
Simpson Harbour, New Britain	Papua New Guinea	82			Eyewitness observation of water height

Every tsunami in 1953 The 1900s Tsunamis of Papua New Guinea The earthquake This day in weather history Alerts 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 2336.