Tsunamis on the Fijis

In a total of 3 tidal waves classified as a tsunami since 1877 a total of 2,005 people died on the Fijis. Tsunamis therefore occur only rarely here.

The strongest tidal wave registered on the Fijis so far reached a height of 15 meters. At this Tsunami on 09/14/1953 a total of 5 people have been killed.

The biggest impact in terms of lifes, injuries, destroyed homes and economy had been a tsunami on 05/10/1877. A tidal wave of up to 2 meters killed 2,000 humans and destroyed vast areas.

Other natural hazards on the Fijis:
› Earthquake
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The marked positions on the map represent the most effected regions within the past 150 years.

Tsunamis are caused by earthquakes or other seismic eruptions on ground of an oceans and can cause massive tidal waves, which run with enormous force on land, causing great devastation. Especially in regions with only few tsunamis, the damage is often drastic, as the population does not expect tsunamis and thus hardly takes any protective measures. Even relatively small flood waves can lead to high losses and financial damage.

The largest tsunamis on the Fijis since 1877

Date	Cause	max wave height	Deaths
11/26/1999	Earthquake in Vanuatu (Vanuatu Islands) with a magnitude of 7.5.	1 m	0
09/14/1953	Earthquake, landslide on the Fijis (Fiji Islands) with a magnitude of 6.4.	15 m	5
05/10/1877	Earthquake in Chile (Northern Chile) with a magnitude of 8.3. The tsunami caused damages in 7 further countries. A total of 2,282 humans died.	2 m	2,000

These statistics are based on datas from the National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): Global Historical Tsunami Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K. Several data have been summarized and translated.