February 10, 2021 Tsunami: Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7.7 earthquake began at Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia on February 10, 2021 at 13:19:55 UTC. The water rose as high as 0.78 meters. Its effects were recorded at 40 places in at least 10 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
The tsunami
- Date
- February 10, 2021, 13:19:55 UTC
- Source
- Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 7.7, 10 km deep
- Maximum water height
- 0.78 m (2.6 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 40
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 23.054° S, 171.601° 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.
The relatively shallow rupture from 10 to 25 km was moderately efficient in generating tsunami, with waves amplitudes up to 20 cm recorded in New Caledonia, New Zealand, Kermadec, and Fiji. (reference #13281)
The tsunami triggered by the 10 February 2021 earthquake can be classified as a region-wide event as it was recorded at least on 31 coastal gauges and four DART stations in the south-west Pacific, firstly on those of New Caledonia and Vanuatu, but also in Fiji, New Zealand (1200 km), Australia (1800 km), and as far as Tasmania (3000 km) in the south and Western Samoa (2000 km) in the east. (reference #13446)
References #13893 lists maximum a 1.4m at Lenakel (this is likely zero-to-crest)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mare Island | New Caledonia | 418 | 0.13 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 10, 14:06 | ||
| Lenakel, Tanna | Vanuatu | 459 | 0.78 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 10, 14:15 | ||
| Lifou Island | New Caledonia | 505 | 0.19 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 10, 14:06 | ||
| Ouinne | New Caledonia | 520 | 0.29 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 10, 14:26 | ||
| Noumea | New Caledonia | 541 | 0.02 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 10, 14:55 | ||
| Thio | New Caledonia | 575 | 0.1 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 10, 14:34 | ||
| Ouvea | New Caledonia | 590 | 0.13 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 10, 15:35 | ||
| Port Vila, Efate Island | Vanuatu | 680 | 0.05 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 10, 14:38 | ||
| Hienghene | New Caledonia | 736 | 0.1 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 10, 14:47 | ||
| Norfolk Island | Australia | 759 | 0.48 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 10, 14:44 | ||
| Lautoka | Fiji | 857 | 0.05 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 10, 15:17 | ||
| Litzlitz, Malekula Island | Vanuatu | 883 | 0.08 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 10, 15:09 | ||
| Suva, King'S Wharf | Fiji | 896 | 0.05 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 10, 14:49 | ||
| Luganville | Vanuatu | 954 | 0.09 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 10, 15:28 | ||
| North Cape | New Zealand | 1,267 | 0.22 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 10, 15:26 | ||
| Ahipara | New Zealand | 1,351 | 30 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Nukualofa (Nuku'Alofa) Vuna Wharf | Tonga | 1,378 | 0.04 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 10, 15:29 | ||
| Leava, Futuna Island | Wallis and Futuna | 1,450 | 0.15 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Korotiti Bay, Great Barrier Island | New Zealand | 1,503 | 0.75 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 10, 16:01 | ||
| D5401003 Bpr, SE of Tonga | Tonga | 1,535 | 0.01 | Deep ocean gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 10, 15:38 | ||
| Lord Howe I. | Australia | 1,554 | 0.4 | Eyewitness observation of water height | day 10, 14:30 | ||
| Auckland | New Zealand | 1,558 | 0.03 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 10, 17:16 | ||
| Tauranga | New Zealand | 1,675 | 0.04 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 10, 16:24 | ||
| East Cape | New Zealand | 1,725 | 0.2 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 10, 15:58 | ||
| D5401001 Bpr, Ene of Auckland, Nz | New Zealand | 1,772 | 0.01 | Deep ocean gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 10, 15:40 | ||
| Fongafale | Tuvalu | 1,803 | 0.05 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 10, 16:25 | ||
| Gisborne | New Zealand | 1,836 | 0.07 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 10, 18:05 | ||
| D5401000 Bpr, Ese of Auckland, Nz | New Zealand | 1,868 | 0.01 | Deep ocean gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 10, 16:00 | ||
| Port Napier | New Zealand | 1,889 | 0.11 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 10, 18:40 | ||
| Gold Coast, Queensland | Australia | 1,903 | 0.3 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 10, 17:15 | ||
| D5401005 Bpr, Sse of Apia | Samoa | 1,924 | 0.01 | Deep ocean gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 10, 16:22 | ||
| Apia, Upolu Island | Samoa | 2,030 | 0.03 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 10, 16:51 | ||
| Jackson Bay | New Zealand | 2,336 | 0.36 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 10, 18:26 | ||
| Port Kembla | Australia | 2,377 | 0.2 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 10, 17:41 | ||
| Owenga, Chatham Island | New Zealand | 2,574 | 0.08 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 10, 18:04 | ||
| Eden (Twofold Bay) | Australia | 2,595 | 0.1 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 10, 17:35 | ||
| Spring Bay, Tasmania | Australia | 3,076 | 0.07 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 10, 19:02 | ||
| Hobart (Battery Point), Tasmania | Australia | 3,138 | 0.03 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 10, 20:35 | ||
| Southport Jetty, Tasmania | Australia | 3,197 | 0.07 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 10, 19:31 | ||
| Quepos | Costa Rica | 11,871 | 0.05 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 11, 07:55 |
More
Every tsunami in 2021The 2000sTsunamis of New CaledoniaThe earthquakeThis 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 5763.