June 15, 2006 Tsunami: Ciutadella, Menorca Island, Spain
A tsunami of meteorological origin began at Ciutadella, Menorca Island, Spain on June 15, 2006. The water rose as high as 5 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
- June 15, 2006
- Source
- Ciutadella, Menorca Island, Spain
- Cause
- Meteorological
- Maximum water height
- 5 m (16.4 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 40.000° N, 3.830° E
The toll
- Damage
- $33 million
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
On 15 June 2006 a destructive flood event (extreme “rissaga”) affected the west coast of Menorca Island, Baleares. The main impacted area was Ciutadella Harbour (Monserrat et al. 2006; Jansa et al. 2007). This was one of the strongest meteotsunamis ever observed in the world oceans. A sudden first negative (ebb) wave of more than 4 m caused a catastrophic drying of the main harbour located in the upper part of the inlet (see inset in Fig. 4b). Then, a few minutes later, a huge flood wave came (Vilibic et al. 2008). The maximum wave height was 4-5 m (even 6 m according to some witness reports).
Around 100 boats were strongly damaged and 35 of them were sunk. The total damage cost was estimated to be of more than 30 million euros. A very abrupt pressure jump, accompanied by strong wind, caused by a squall line system, was found to be responsible for this extraordinary event.
(all above from reference #12544)
The 15 June 2006 event in Ciutadella (Spain) resulted in 4-5 m high waves, sinking, and damaging several tens of boats and resulting in a cost of more than 30 million Euro. (reference #13742)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port of Ciutadella, Menorca Island | Spain | 1 | 5 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 2006The 2000sTsunamis of SpainThis 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 5727.