September 7, 2002 Tsunami: Arraial do Cabo, Brazil
A tsunami of meteorological origin began at Arraial do Cabo, Brazil on September 7, 2002. The water rose as high as 0.7 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 7, 2002
- Source
- Arraial do Cabo, Brazil
- Cause
- Meteorological
- Maximum water height
- 0.7 m (2.3 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Probable tsunami
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 event at Arraial do Cabo was recorded by a tide gauge installed in a harbor located inside a semi-enclosed bay […] Synoptic conditions reveal an intense subtropical cyclone moving northward along the Brazilian south/southeast coast, followed by an equally intense polar anticyclone. (reference #13945)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arraial do Cabo | Brazil | 0.7 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) |
More
Every tsunami in 2002The 2000sTsunamis of BrazilThis 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 5982.