October 7, 2009 Tsunami: Vanuatu Islands

Name: October 7, 2009 Tsunami: Vanuatu Islands
Start: 2009-10-07
Location: Vanuatu Islands

October 7, 2009 · 0.29 m · Definite tsunami

A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7.6 earthquake began at Vanuatu Islands on October 7, 2009 at 22:03:14 UTC. The water rose as high as 0.29 meters. Its effects were recorded at 37 places in at least 15 countries.

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

Tsunami warnings in force

The tsunami

Date: October 7, 2009, 22:03:14 UTC
Source: Vanuatu Islands
Cause: Earthquake
Earthquake: Magnitude 7.6, 45 km deep
Maximum water height: 0.29 m (1.0 ft)
Runups recorded: 37
Waters: Ocean
How certain: Definite tsunami
Source location: 13.006° S, 166.510° E

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.

Two earthquakes occurred on October 7 2009 near the Vanuatu Islands in the southwest Pacific. The first earthquake, magnitude 7.7 at 2203UTC, was located at 13.05S, 166.19E and the second earthquake, magnitude 7.8 at 2218UTC, was located at 12.55S, 166.31E (USGS parameters). Both events triggered a tsunami. Due to the close origin time and location of the sources, it is not possible to determine the amplitude generated by each source. The computed travel time is provided for the first event. (reference #5608)

A seismic crisis with three large events showing magnitudes from Mw 7.4 to Mw 7.8 occurred south-west of Vanikoro and caused a tsunami that was recorded on the Port Vila tide gauge (30 cm). No additional information about the event was reported, and no investigation was led in the closest islands from the source (i.e. Vanikoro and the Torres Islands). (reference #13893)

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	Measured by	First wave, UTC
Luganville	Vanuatu	287	0.1	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)	day 7, 23:12
Port Vila, Efate Island	Vanuatu	560	0.29	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)	day 7, 23:01
Honiara, Guadalcanal	Solomon Islands	818	0.07	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)	day 7, 23:41
D55012 Bpr, Coral Sea	Papua New Guinea	917	0.03	Deep ocean gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Lautoka	Fiji	1,279	0.03	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)	day 8, 00:54
Suva, King'S Wharf	Fiji	1,398	0.03	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)	day 8, 00:49
Funafuti	Tuvalu	1,473	0.02	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Rosslyn Bay	Australia	2,005	0.12	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)	day 8, 04:50
Nukualofa (Nuku'Alofa)	Tonga	2,144	0.03	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Majuro, Marshall Islands, MH	Marshall Islands	2,287	0.02	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Apia, Upolu Island	Samoa	2,354	0.04	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)	day 8, 01:50
Manus Island, Admiralty Islands	Papua New Guinea	2,433	0.05	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)	day 8, 02:01
Pago Pago, American Samoa, AS	US Territories	2,470	0.07	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Wake Island, UM	US Territories	3,572	0.03	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Papeete, Tahiti	French Polynesia	4,734	0.03	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)	day 8, 04:51
Midway Islands, HI	US Territories	4,881	0.06	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)	day 8, 06:08
Nawiliwili, Kauai, HI, HI	United States	5,371	0.08	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)	day 8, 05:18
Honolulu, Oahu, HI, HI	United States	5,438	0.05	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)	day 8, 05:12
Kawaihae, Hawaii, HI, HI	United States	5,511	0.11	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)	day 8, 05:15
Kahului, Maui, HI, HI	United States	5,518	0.19	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)	day 8, 07:46
Hilo, Hawaii, HI, HI	United States	5,554	0.07	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)	day 8, 05:31
Adak, Sweeper Cove, AK, AK	United States	7,369	0.08	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)	day 8, 08:35
Atka Island, AK, AK	United States	7,463	0.06	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Nikolski, AK, AK	United States	7,677	0.08	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)	day 8, 08:46
Arena Cove, CA, CA	United States	9,229	0.04	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Point Reyes, CA, CA	United States	9,249	0.06	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Monterey, CA, CA	United States	9,282	0.05	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Port San Luis, CA, CA	United States	9,321	0.08	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)	day 8, 11:45
Santa Barbara, CA, CA	United States	9,383	0.15	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
South Beach, OR, OR	United States	9,453	0.03	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Santa Monica, CA, CA	United States	9,472	0.05	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Tofino (Clayoquot),british Columbia, BC	Canada	9,531	0.04	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Neah Bay, WA, WA	United States	9,581	0.03	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)	day 8, 10:24
Cabo San Lucas	Mexico	9,929	0.04	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)	day 8, 11:47
Coquimbo	Chile	12,213	0.09	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Caldera	Chile	12,410	0.07	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Iquique	Chile	12,819	0.05	Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)

Every tsunami in 2009 The 2000s Tsunamis of Vanuatu The earthquake This day in weather history Alerts 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 4442.