October 17, 2002 Tsunami: Southwest Australia
A tsunami of meteorological origin began at Southwest Australia on October 17, 2002. The water rose as high as 0.36 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
- October 17, 2002
- Source
- Southwest Australia
- Cause
- Meteorological
- Maximum water height
- 0.36 m (1.2 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite 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.
A strong cold front hits the south-west of WA at ~1300 on 17 October 2002. Several tornadoes that occurred at different sites in the study region were associated with this front. Four tornadoes were reported in the Perth metropolitan area (Courtney and Middelmann 2005). Meteorologically induced sea-level oscillations were recorded at several tide stations along the west and south coasts. At ~1330 on 17 October, the Fremantle tide gauge recorded a meteotsunami. The initial wave height (crest to trough) recorded at Fremantle was ~0.7 m, which was double the tsunami wave height of 0.33 m recorded at Fremantle as a result of the seismic tsunami of 26 December 2004. (reference #11089)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fremantle | Australia | 0.36 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 17, 05:30 |
More
Every tsunami in 2002The 2000sTsunamis of AustraliaThis 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 2026-10-01. NCEI tsunami event 6075.