October 28, 2008 Tsunami: Maine, United States
A tsunami of meteorological origin began at Maine, United States on October 28, 2008. The water rose as high as 3.6 meters. Its effects were recorded at 5 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
- October 28, 2008
- Source
- Maine, United States
- Cause
- Meteorological
- Maximum water height
- 3.6 m (11.8 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 5
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Probable tsunami
- Source location
- 43.800° N, 69.700° W
The toll
- Damage
- $20,000
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.
BOOTHBAY HARBOR (NEWS CENTER) --Some boats were scratched and docks damaged Tuesday afternoon when low tide became high within a matter of minutes.
Locals in the area say it happened about 6 or 7 times throughout the afternoon. They say it surged in within a matter of 5 minutes, then flowed back out just as quickly.
The National Weather Service says the cause "remains a mystery and may never be known."
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME
...Tuesday's Unusual Tide Fluctuations Along The Mid-Maine Coast...
The cause of yesterday's unusual tide fluctuations along the mid coast of Maine remains a mystery...and may never be known. Significant rapid rises and falls in tide levels were observed around 3 pm in Boothbay Harbor, Southport, and Bristol. Only very minor fluctuations were noted at tide gauges along the coast.
Eye-witness reports from several locations indicated that water levels fell and rose from 4 feet to as much as 12 feet along the coast during the event. These rapid changes in tidal levels generated the strong currents that damaged piers and boats in the area.
(above from reference #4027)
Nov. 4 (Bloomberg)--A series of freak waves that crashed into Boothbay Harbor, Maine, caused $10,000 to $20,000 in damage and left experts and residents puzzling over what caused it.
The first of the waves last week pushed a 4-foot to 12-foot (1.2-meter to 3.6-meter) wall of water into the harbor, said Dave Benner, Boothbay Harbor Emergency Management Agency director, citing witnesses.
"We really don't know what happened; it was definitely weird and nothing normal," Benner said by telephone from the town about 126 miles (203 kilometers) northeast of Boston. "I have never seen anything like it."
Such waves can be caused by squalls or seismic activity, such as a landslide under the ocean or a small earthquake, said Jeff List, an oceanographer with the U.S. Geological Survey in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. The exact cause of the Maine event is under investigation.
(above from reference #4028)
The impact was greatest in Boothbay, Maine, where zero-to-peak amplitudes were estimated at 2 m, and several marine structures and boats were damaged. (reference #11074)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southport, ME, ME | United States | 5 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Boothbay Harbor, ME, ME | United States | 8 | 3.6 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Bristol, ME, ME | United States | 23 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Portland, ME, ME | United States | 47 | 0.1 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Fort Point, NH, NH | United States | 115 | 0.06 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) |
More
Every tsunami in 2008The 2000sTsunamis of United StatesThis 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 3621.