January 7, 2013 Tsunami: Southwest Australia
A tsunami of meteorological origin began at Southwest Australia on January 7, 2013. The water rose as high as 0.41 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
- January 7, 2013
- Source
- Southwest Australia
- Cause
- Meteorological
- Maximum water height
- 0.41 m (1.3 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 5
- 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.
Thunderstorms, which affected an area of over 500 km from Geraldton to Bunbury, caused the meteotsunami recorded on 7 January 2013. Two pressure jumps of 4 hPa were recorded at North Island meteorological station at 0000 and 07:30; however, only the first pressure jump generated a meteotsunami at Geraldton at 00:45. The initial pressure jump, in the form of a thunderstorm system, moved south and arrived at Rottnest Island at 06:30. This pressure jump is reflected in the high rainfall squall band in the rainfall radar image of the Perth region obtained at 06:00 on 7 January […] A smaller meteotsunami with similar periods was identified 24 h earlier (6 January). (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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geraldton | Australia | 0.41 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | ||||
| Jurien Bay | Australia | 0.22 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | ||||
| Fremantle | Australia | 0.24 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | ||||
| Bunbury | Australia | 0.15 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | ||||
| Port Geographe (Busselton) | Australia | 0.2 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) |
More
Every tsunami in 2013The 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 6070.