Has New York Ever Gotten a Tsunami?

Many kinds of natural disasters impact New York. The Empire State gets hurricanes, blizzards, and even the odd earthquake. New York, especially New York City, has been destroyed by every conceivable disaster event on the silver screen. Has New York ever gotten a tsunami, though? We’re going to take a closer look at this question and show you whether you need to worry about New York or the Big Apple getting flooded by a tsunami.  

What Is a Tsunami?

Before we look at New York’s tsunami history, let’s take a step back and look at these events. A tsunami is a large wave caused by some major disturbance in the ocean. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, severely adverse weather, and impacts from objects like asteroids cause tsunamis. Quakes tend to be the most common cause of tsunamis.

These waves can strike coastal areas, sometimes very far away from the disturbance’s origins, causing death and destruction on a massive scale. These waves are dangerous for several reasons. First off, tsunamis send immense volumes of fast-moving water into coastal areas.

Moving water is incredibly powerful, capable of destroying buildings, creating and moving enormous amounts of debris, and washing people off their feet. Just 6 inches of fast-moving water can knock over an adult. Two feet of moving water may sweep away vehicles.

Another thing that makes tsunamis dangerous is the fact that they can strike far away from their cause. A powerful earthquake can generate a tsunami capable of crossing an ocean at a speed of 500 mph. Usually, a tsunami will strike land between 20 and 30 mph. Although that may not seem too swift, it’s much faster than a person can flee on foot.

Finally, tsunamis don’t just rush into the land and stay there. The water typically recedes, taking with it debris, people, and animals while causing more damage.

One particularly deadly tsunami was the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. A megathrust earthquake with a magnitude of 9.1 to 9.3 M_w produced a massive tsunami on December 26, 2004. The tsunami killed 227,898 people, destroyed settlements along the coast, and even moved massive ships over a mile inland. Tsunamis have the potential to be incredibly deadly and destructive.

Has New York Ever Gotten a Tsunami?

New York has not been struck by a tsunami in recorded history. At least, no human documentation or oral traditions tell of such an event. However, that does not necessarily mean the state’s coastal region has never experienced a tsunami in its existence.

Steven Goodbred of Vanderbilt University found unusual deposits of gravel and marine fossils in New York and New Jersey back in 2009. He took mud cores from various places in New York and New Jersey and found that the samples contained the same unusual material in several locations.

The scientist theorized that the material was displaced into these areas by a very rare Atlantic Ocean tsunami that struck roughly 2,300 years ago. He wrote, “The size and distribution of material would require a high velocity wave and strong currents to move it.” Goodbred said the tsunami would have had the power to move water at the required velocity to distribute the material in those areas.

Many questions remain unanswered about this situation, though. Scientists aren’t sure about when the tsunami struck or what caused it. So, has New York ever gotten a tsunami? Maybe, but we need even more evidence.

Why New York Doesn’t Get Tsunamis

New York has a fair amount of coastline along the Atlantic Ocean. Why doesn’t the state get tsunamis, then? Atlantic tsunamis are fairly rare because they require most tsunamis are created by shallow earthquakes in subduction zones. Simply put, the closest subduction zones near New York are far away in places like the Puerto Rico Trench and the Antilles subduction zone.

According to Gerard Fryer of the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, these subduction zones are smaller and less active than those in the Pacific, resulting in fewer tsunamis in the Atlantic Ocean. Of course, that does not mean no tsunamis happen in the Atlantic Ocean, only that they are rare and less powerful than many of the worst to strike in the Pacific Ocean.

New York’s location is the best protection it has against a tsunami wave. However, landslides or impacts from objects like asteroids could cause one in this area.

We don’t know whether or not New York has ever had a tsunami throughout history. Evidence suggests at least one tsunami struck the state about 2,300 years ago. However, many questions surround that supposed event. One thing is certain, though. If a major tsunami hit New York City, the results would be devastating.

While it’s not likely that skyscrapers would be toppled or anything like that, the impact of the flooding and the potential death toll would be catastrophic. Fortunately, scientists are constantly working on new detection methods to ensure people have as much time as possible to prepare for a tsunami following earthquakes and other tsunami-causing events.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © iStock.com/o:MAXIM ZHURAVLEV