December 5, 2002 Tsunami: Southwest Australia
A tsunami of meteorological origin began at Southwest Australia on December 5, 2002. The water rose as high as 0.45 meters. Its effects were recorded at 3 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
- December 5, 2002
- Source
- Southwest Australia
- Cause
- Meteorological
- Maximum water height
- 0.45 m (1.5 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 3
- 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.
At ~1700 on 5 December 2002, a thunderstorm and associated large hail occurred in the south-west of WA. The resulting meteotsunami was recorded at the Bunbury, Busselton, and Hillarys Harbour tide gauges. The meteotsunami-induced sea-level oscillations at Bunbury, which continued for more than a day, reached a maximum height (crest to trough) of 0.9 m; however, this wave occurred several hours after the first meteotsunami oscillation. (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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bunbury | Australia | 0.45 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | ||||
| Port Geographe (Busselton) | Australia | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||||
| Hillarys Harbour | Australia | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) |
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 2026-09-24. NCEI tsunami event 6076.