The earthquake and tsunami of 1865 November 17: Evidence for far-field tsunami hazard from Tonga

Abstract

Historical reports of an earthquake in Tonga in 1865 November identify it as the only event from that subduction zone which generated a far-field tsunami observable without instruments. Run-up heights reached 2 m in Rarotonga and 80 cm in the Marquesas Islands. Hydrodynamic simulations require a moment of 4 × 1028 dyn cm, a value significantly larger than previous estimates of the maximum size of earthquake to be expected at the Tonga subduction zone. This warrants an upwards re-evaluation of the tsunami risk from Tonga to the Cook Islands and the various Polynesian chains, which had hitherto been regarded as minor. © 2004 RAS.