Tsunamis in 2016

June 23, 2016 Tsunami: English Channel, France

June 23, 2016 · 0.39 m · Definite tsunami

A tsunami of meteorological origin began at English Channel, France on June 23, 2016. The water rose as high as 0.39 meters. Its effects were recorded at 3 places in at least 2 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
June 23, 2016
Source
English Channel, France
Cause
Meteorological
Maximum water height
0.39 m (1.3 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.

English Channel 2016. On the 23 June 2016, a wave of ~13cm struck Newhaven in East Sussex. A wave, with a maximum height of ~43cm also struck the north coast of France. The tide gauge reading for Newhaven should be read, with the proviso that the frequency of tide gauge measurements was 15 minutes. Therefore, meteotsunami waves in the period range of 10 minutes would not have been recorded. Without additional observations, therefore, the event is hard to assess. In addition, the Newhaven tide gauge is sheltered by a breakwater, which protects the opening of the harbour from incoming waves. The conclusions of Williams et al. (2018) were that this event was a meteotsunami caused by a convective weather system in the English Channel, with pressure forcing generating the initial wave. (reference #14269)

Every runup

Nearest the source first. Heights are above sea level at the time; a tide gauge reads half the wave’s full height.

WhereCountryKm from sourceWater height, mInland, mMeasured byFirst wave, UTCDeaths
Boulogne-Sur-MerFrance0.39Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)day 23, 04:47
DieppeFrance0.21Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)day 23, 03:58
Newhaven, EnglandUnited Kingdom0.13Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)day 23, 06:08

More

Every tsunami in 2016The 2000sTsunamis of FranceThis 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 6112.