When was the last tsunami in Australia?

The most recent tsunami to strike Australia occurred on Monday, April 11th, 2016. The tsunami was generated as a result of a magnitude 7.8 earthquake in the Solomon Islands, located to the northeast of Australia. The earthquake triggered a small tsunami that was detected by two tide gauges in the eastern Torres Strait, located between the Australian mainland and the island of Papua New Guinea. The wave heights at both stations were small - between 0.2 and 0.4 metres - and no damage was reported.

In the past, Australia has experienced much larger and more destructive tsunamis. The largest recorded tsunami in Australia was generated by a magnitude 8.1 earthquake in the Indian Ocean in April of 2007. This tsunami was detected by numerous tide gauges around Australia's coastline, with wave heights of up to 2.5 metres reported. Fortunately, no significant damage or loss of life occurred, although some coastal areas experienced flooding.

In addition to these two tsunamis, Australia has experienced several smaller tsunamis over the past few decades. These have been mostly generated by earthquakes in other parts of the world, although some have been generated locally by earthquakes and landslides. In general, tsunamis in Australia tend to be small and cause little or no damage.