Has New Jersey Ever Gotten a Tsunami?

Despite often being a punchline of somewhat accurate jokes, New Jersey isn’t all bad. While the state gets some tornadoes and hurricanes, New Jersey is rarely affected by powerful or deadly natural disasters. The lack of devastating earthquakes in the Northeast makes it seem unlikely that a tsunami would strike the area. So, has New Jersey ever gotten a tsunami?

We’ll answer this question and explain what we know about the Garden State’s history with these events.

Has a Tsunami Ever Hit New Jersey?

Yes, New Jersey has been hit by a few tsunamis in its history. Scientists recorded tsunami waves in this state in 1938 and 1944. Tsunami-like waves struck the state in 2013, and more recently in 2018.  However, the types of tsunamis that hit the Garden State were not typical, and the existence of the ones in 1938 and 1944 is still debated.

Now, you may be wondering how we would confuse a tsunami with any other event. In order to help you understand the tsunamis that struck New Jersey in the past, we have to divert this article to discuss their causes.  

What Causes a Tsunami?

Here’s a brief refresher from your Earth science classes. A tsunami is a series of very large waves caused by earthquakes, landslides, or volcanic eruptions that occur below the ocean. These fast-moving waves may appear somewhat small and inconsequential in the middle of the sea. Yet, as they come closer to land, the waves become a destructive force that sends enormous volumes of water inland.  

Tsunamis are devastating natural disasters that sweep up all manner of debris, destroying buildings and ending lives. The incoming waves are not the only danger posed by this natural disaster, either. The receding waters from a tsunami can be deadly as well.

The 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami was one of the most powerful and deadly tsunamis ever recorded. It began when a magnitude 9.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Sumatra in the Indian Ocean on December 26, 2004. The ensuing tsunami generated waves that washed upwards of three miles inland, killing 227,898 people.

Now that we have a better understanding of these natural disasters, let’s look at how tsunamis have impacted New Jersey.   

Questionable New Jersey Tsunamis

Only a few tsunamis have struck New Jersey in the past. Still, when we ask whether New Jersey has ever gotten a tsunami, the answer is a bit murky. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has recorded a few of these events for New Jersey.

One of them was in 1938. The tsunami struck amid the 1938 New England Hurricane, also called the Long Island Express Hurricane. Another struck in 1944 during “The Great Atlantic Hurricane.” NOAA recorded a tsunami with a single runup that struck the coast of New Jersey with unusually high waves.

Both of these tsunamis struck at the same time that very powerful hurricanes were striking the region. Scientists have since speculated that these events were meteotsunamis. These tsunamis are caused by powerful storms driving wave action rather than earthquakes, landslides, or volcanism.

Scientists have theorized that the tsunami may have originated from slumping off the coast, an underwater landslide. For now, NOAA lists both of those events as doubtful tsunamis. No matter their cause, the waves caused serious damage to towns along the coast of the Garden State.

Recent New Jersey Tsunamis

New Jersey has experienced a few recent meteotsunamis. Powerful storms hit New Jersey in 2013, generating tsunami-like waves, injuring 2 people at a jetty near Barnegat Inlet. Scientists think that this event was at least partially caused by the weather rather than typical tsunami causes.

The same thing happened in 2018 as an unusually powerful line of storms caused a minor tsunami near Atlantic City.

So, technically, New Jersey does get very minor tsunamis, but they’re likely caused by the weather and not earthquakes or volcanism.

Is New Jersey at Risk for a Powerful Tsunami?

Powerful, deadly tsunamis have struck states like Alaska and Washington. In fact, the Alaskan Mega Tsunami reached 1,720 feet in height.

New Jersey is not in a very seismically active part of the world compared to other states. At least, the recorded history of the state dating back over 300 years suggests that the area does not get frequent or powerful earthquakes.

New Jersey is in the middle of the North American Plate rather than at the border of two plates. So, the area experiences less seismic activity. Meanwhile, the west coast of the United States is far more seismically active since the Pacific Plate meets the North American Plate just off the coast. The interaction between those two plates leads to more frequent seismic activity. Strong earthquakes occur at those plate boundaries, often causing tsunamis.

So, has New Jersey ever gotten a tsunami? Yes, but we don’t know whether they were caused by seismic activity or powerful weather systems. Given the many cities and towns on the coast of New Jersey, one can only hope that a major tsunami does not strike the area.  

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