September 17, 1994 Tsunami: Rabaul Harbor, Papua New Guinea
A tsunami caused by a volcano and a magnitude 4.6 earthquake began at Rabaul Harbor, Papua New Guinea on September 17, 1994 at 16:51:33 UTC. The water rose as high as 0.3 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
- September 17, 1994, 16:51:33 UTC
- Source
- Rabaul Harbor, Papua New Guinea
- Cause
- Volcano and earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 4.6, 33 km deep
- Volcano
- The eruption that caused it
- Maximum water height
- 0.3 m (1.0 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 4.166° S, 152.429° E
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.
The first tsunami was observed associated with one of or both of two earthquakes of M5 occurred at 0251 (LT) on September 18, 1994, a day before the eruption. Hypocenters of these earthquakes are estimated beneath Tavurvur volcano and Vulcan volcano, respectively (Blong and McKee, 1995). The first tsunami reached the tide gauge about 6 minutes after the earthquakes. The zero-peak amplitude of the tsunami is about 1 foot (30 cm), and the tsunami continued for several hours with a simple decaying amplitude. (reference #3809)
At 251 am on Sunday morning, 18 September, two strong earthquakes occurred beneath the harbour, the first near Tavurvur and the second near Vulcan. The second event was stronger - ML 5.1. These earthquakes produced a significant tsunami in the harbour. Numerous felt earthquakes, many with magnitudes equal to or larger than ML 3.5 occurred between 5 pm Sunday and 3 am Monday. A ML 4.1 earthquake at 8:54 pm produced a small tsunami at the Main Wharf but most of the small shallow earthquakes produced no tidal disturbances (reference #44)
Note: it appears several tsunamis generated starting with the 18 Sept 02:51 LT (17 Sept 16:51 UTC) earthquake. Larger tsunami event due to volcanic eruption and landslide occurred on 18 Sept UTC, listed separately in NCEI/WDS database.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simpson Harbour, New Britain | Papua New Guinea | 29 | 0.3 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) |
More
Every tsunami in 1994The 1900sTsunamis of Papua New GuineaThe earthquakeThe eruptionThis 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 5927.