November 2, 2004 Tsunami: Vancouver Island, Canada
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 6.6 earthquake began at Vancouver Island, Canada on November 2, 2004 at 10:02:12 UTC. The water rose as high as 0.06 meters. Its effects were recorded at 2 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
- November 2, 2004, 10:02:12 UTC
- Source
- Vancouver Island, Canada
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 6.6, 10 km deep
- Maximum water height
- 0.06 m (0.2 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 2
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 49.277° N, 128.772° W
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.
Careful examination of local tide guage stations by the Canadian Hydrographic Service revealed that this earthquake generated a small tsunami which was recorded at Tofino and Bamfield. Trough-to-crest wave heights were 11 cm in Tofino and 6.5 cm in Bamfield.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tofino (Clayoquot),british Columbia, BC | Canada | 209 | 0.06 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 2, 10:37 | ||
| Bamfield, British Columbia, BC | Canada | 270 | 0.03 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 2, 11:59 |
More
Every tsunami in 2004The 2000sTsunamis of CanadaThe earthquakeThis 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 3012.