August 11, 1965 Tsunami: Vanuatu Islands

Name: August 11, 1965 Tsunami: Vanuatu Islands
Start: 1965-08-11
Location: Vanuatu Islands

August 11, 1965 · 7 m · Definite tsunami

A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7 earthquake began at Vanuatu Islands on August 11, 1965 at 22:31:45 UTC. The water rose as high as 7 meters. Its effects were recorded at 4 places in at least 2 countries.

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: August 11, 1965, 22:31:45 UTC
Source: Vanuatu Islands
Cause: Earthquake
Earthquake: Magnitude 7, 13 km deep
Maximum water height: 7 m (23.0 ft)
Runups recorded: 4
Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura): 2.5
Tsunami magnitude (Iida): 2.8
Waters: Ocean
How certain: Definite tsunami
Source location: 15.800° S, 167.200° E

The toll

Damage: Moderate (about $1 to $5 million) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
Houses damaged: Some (about 51 to 100) 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:

1965, August 12. Validity 4. There was a series of shocks on the New Hebrides Islands. In all, 62 earthquakes were registered between August 12 and 13. The shocks continued until September.

During the main earthquake (August 12) the north-western part of Malekula island rose 1/2-1 m. A tsunami arose with a height of 7 m in some bays. Since the seismic station at Port Vila had broadcast a tsunami warning on the radio after the start of the shocks and before the main earthquake, the necessary safety precautions had been taken and there were no victims. The height of the tsunami was 2.5 m on Tongoa Island (Vanuatu) and 1.2 m at Port Vila.

[11.VIII; 22h31m46s; 15.8 S., 167.2 E.; 13 km; M=7.2]

Reference #79:

1965, August 11, 22:32 UTC. 15.8 S, 167.2 E. Tsunami source New Hebrides. Tsunami observation: Tongoa 2.5 m, Vila 1 m.

Reference #236:

1965, August 11, 22:32 UTC. A magnitude 7.0 earthquake in the New Hebrides generated a tsunami that was recorded at the tide gage at Tongoa Island. New Hebrides. with an amplitude of 2.5 m. (Iida et al., 1967) Pararas-Carayannis and Dong (1980) report that it was recorded at Pago Page as a minor trace.

Reference #3459:

There was no tsunami associated with two of the main shocks, although their epicentres were at sea; but the small aftershock of August 13 produced a tsunami 2 metres high.

Reference #13893:

The main event (Mw 7.6 at 22:31 UTC, 11 August) caused an uplift of the north-western part of Malekula of 0.5 to 0.8m according to Benoit and Dubois (1971) and up to 1.2m according to Taylor et al. (1980). The shock generated a tsunami that rose with a height of 7m in some bays on Malekula (according to Rothe, 1966, in Soloviev and Go, 1974). The height of the tsunami was reported at 2.5m on Tongoa Island and 1.2m at Port Vila, Efate (Soloviev and Go, 1974). However, a small tsunami is indicated in other studies (Benoit, 1965, in Louat and Baldassari, 1989), and Benoit and Dubois (1971) stated that there was no tsunami associated with the main shocks.

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	Measured by
Malakula (Malekula, Malekoula)	Vanuatu	33	7	Eyewitness observation of water height
Tongoa Island	Vanuatu	187	2.5	Eyewitness observation of water height
Port Vila, Efate Island	Vanuatu	247	1.2	Eyewitness observation of water height
Pago Pago, American Samoa, AS	US Territories	2,383		Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)

Every tsunami in 1965 The 1900s Tsunamis of Vanuatu 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 1973.