October 29, 2019 Tsunami: Imbituba, Santa Catarina, Brazil
A tsunami of meteorological origin began at Imbituba, Santa Catarina, Brazil on October 29, 2019. The water rose as high as 0.59 meters. Its effects were recorded at 1 place.
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 29, 2019
- Source
- Imbituba, Santa Catarina, Brazil
- Cause
- Meteorological
- Maximum water height
- 0.59 m (1.9 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
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.
An intense cyclone in the south of the region (Fig. 11) generated a strong squall line that moved northward along the coast, inducing pronounced coastal seiches with periods of approximately 15 min. The waves were recorded by at least four tide gauge stations on the coast of Santa Catarina, the maximum reaching of more than 1 m was observed at Imbituba. Unfortunately, at that time the sampling frequency of the tide gauges was set to 5 min, which resulted in certain aliasing effect in the recorded time series. (reference #13945)
Although no casualties were reported, property damage occurred (reference #13946)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imbituba Port, Santa Catarina | Brazil | 0.59 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) |
More
Every tsunami in 2019The 2000sTsunamis of BrazilThis 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 5985.