June 10, 2012 Tsunami: Southwest Australia
A tsunami of meteorological origin began at Southwest Australia on June 10, 2012. The water rose as high as 0.55 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
- June 10, 2012
- Source
- Southwest Australia
- Cause
- Meteorological
- Maximum water height
- 0.55 m (1.8 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.
The meteotsunami recorded on 10 June 2012 was unusual in that it occurred during winter and was generated by the passage of a low-pressure system across south-west Australia (Fig. 9). The low-pressure system was initiated as a tropical low off WA’s north-west coast, and moved almost parallel to the coast, with the centre of the low crossing the coast to the south of Perth […] The meteotsunami generated from the low-pressure system produced the highest water level ever recorded at Fremantle, which has a continuous record spanning over 110 years and is the longest sea-level record in the southern hemisphere (Pattiaratchi 2011). The meteotsunami wave height was 0.61 m; however, this was not the highest meteotsunami ever recorded at this site […] The meteotsunami was generated during onshore winds. Onshore winds, generated when the front crossed the coast and the wind speed rapidly increased and then decreased over 1–2 h (as recorded at the meteorological stations) (Fig. 10), most likely caused the meteotsunami […] However, there is insufficient data to clearly identify the mechanism which was responsible for the generation of the meteotsunami. (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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fremantle | Australia | 0.31 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | ||||
| Bunbury | Australia | 0.52 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | ||||
| Port Geographe (Busselton) | Australia | 0.55 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) |
More
Every tsunami in 2012The 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 6066.