May 19, 2023 Tsunami: Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7.7 earthquake began at Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia on May 19, 2023 at 02:57:06 UTC. The water rose as high as 0.61 meters. Its effects were recorded at 27 places in at least 5 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
- May 19, 2023, 02:57:06 UTC
- Source
- Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 7.7, 37 km deep
- Maximum water height
- 0.61 m (2.0 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 27
- Warning
- Regional Tsunami Warning issued by PTWC for areas without a warning system
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 23.229° S, 170.694° 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.
Reference #13533:
In New Zealand: One person in Manawatu-Whanganui said they did not see, hear, or feel anything unusual while the remaining nine responses from the West Coast, Nelson-Tasman, Wellington, andBay of Plenty regions indicated that people had observed the water recede and rise, and heard unusual sounds.
Due to the concurrent storm and high tide that occurred in tandem with this event in someregions, it is difficult to attribute all of the coastal impacts and wave activity to the tsunami.
Reference #13893:
On 19 May 2023, a Mw 7.7 earthquake located south-east of Walpole Island at almost the same place but with a comparable focal mechanism solution to the 17 May 1995 event (slightly different in terms of azimuth and non-double couple component), i.e. a normal-fault-type event on the Australian plunging plate at the outer wall of the southernmost part of the VSZ, generated a small tsunami that was recorded on the tide gauges of New Caledonia, Vanuatu, and northern New Zealand. The largest wave was recorded at the Lenakel tide gauge on Tanna, showing a maximum amplitude of 70 cm. Note that this tide gauge stopped transmitting data afterwards.
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 | 345 | 0.19 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Aneityum, Vanuatu Islands | Vanuatu | 347 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Ouinne | New Caledonia | 435 | 0.2 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Lifou Island | New Caledonia | 435 | 0.12 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Lenakel, Tanna | Vanuatu | 435 | 0.61 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Tanna Island | Vanuatu | 436 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Thio | New Caledonia | 492 | 0.07 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Port Vila, Efate Island | Vanuatu | 655 | 0.22 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Hienghene | New Caledonia | 657 | 0.03 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Norfolk Island | Australia | 701 | Eyewitness observation of water height | day 19, 05:45 | |||
| D5501005 Bpr, SW of New Caledonia | New Caledonia | 780 | Deep ocean gauge (half the maximum wave height) | ||||
| Litzlitz, Malekula Island | Vanuatu | 858 | 0.07 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 19, 04:30 | ||
| Lautoka | Fiji | 939 | 0.05 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| North Cape | New Zealand | 1,261 | 0.21 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Raoul Island, Fishing Rock | New Zealand | 1,319 | 0.15 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Raoul Island, Boat Cove | New Zealand | 1,321 | 0.07 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Ahipara | New Zealand | 1,345 | 15 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Lord Howe I. | Australia | 1,470 | 0.1 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Korotiti Bay, Great Barrier Island | New Zealand | 1,509 | 0.33 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| D5501004 Bpr, Ene of Auckland, Nz | New Zealand | 1,617 | Deep ocean gauge (half the maximum wave height) | ||||
| Tauranga | New Zealand | 1,687 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| East Cape | New Zealand | 1,741 | 0.11 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Gold Coast, Queensland | Australia | 1,809 | 0.24 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Paraparaumu | New Zealand | 2,001 | 24 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Nelson | New Zealand | 2,014 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Mapua | New Zealand | 2,017 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Port Kembla | Australia | 2,291 | 0.11 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) |
More
Every tsunami in 2023The 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 5881.