May 19, 1964 Tsunami: Long Island, NY, United States
A tsunami caused by a landslide began at Long Island, NY, United States on May 19, 1964 at 00:00:00 UTC. The water rose as high as 0.28 meters. Its effects were recorded at 11 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
The tsunami
- Date
- May 19, 1964, 00:00:00 UTC
- Source
- Long Island, NY, United States
- Cause
- Landslide
- Maximum water height
- 0.28 m (0.9 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 11
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Probable tsunami
- Source location
- 40.800° N, 73.100° W
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.
Lockridge et al. (Reference #541): "A disturbance that probably originated near the northeastern end of Long Island was widely recorded in the area from Providence, RI to NJ. At Plum Island, NY, the record shows an impulsive beginning with an amplitude of 0.28 m and a period of 4 minutes at 5:25 p.m. (EST). The short period waves continued over 10 cycles with decreasing amplitude. Waves of about 0.11 m maximum amplitude began impulsively also at Montauk, Long Island, NY, and the wave activity continued for 8 or more hours. Smaller amplitudes were observed on 9 other tide gauge records. The source of these waves is not known, but there are no reports of recordings from local seismic stations, and the waves do not appear to be of meteorological origin. A submarine landslide or an explosion are possible causes."
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 Jefferson, NY, NY | United States | 16 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 19, 23:10 | |||
| Willetts Point, NY, NY | United States | 20 | 0.1 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 20, 00:00 | ||
| New Rochelle, NY, NY | United States | 57 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 19, 22:14 | |||
| Battery, NY, NY | United States | 78 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | ||||
| Sandy Hook, NJ, NJ | United States | 85 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | ||||
| Plum Island, NY, NY | United States | 87 | 0.28 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 19, 22:25 | ||
| Montauk, NY, NY | United States | 100 | 0.1 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 19, 22:42 | ||
| New London, CT, CT | United States | 104 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 19, 22:39 | |||
| Newport, RI, RI | United States | 168 | 0.1 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 19, 22:39 | ||
| Providence, RI, RI | United States | 181 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | ||||
| Atlantic City, NJ, NJ | United States | 196 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) |
More
Every tsunami in 1964The 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 2368.