The World Record Storm Surge and the Most Intense Southern Hemisphere Tropical Cyclone: New Evidence and Modeling

Abstract

The world record for a storm surge is 13 m, occurring during landfall of Tropical Cyclone (TC) Mahina in northeast Australia, March 1899. The central pressure of this cyclone has been reported as 914 hPa as measured by a ship's barometers during passage of the eye. The accuracy of these measurements is poor, as the only source for this information has been thirdhand accounts in an anonymously authored report. Modeling of this event, at 914 hPa, also suggests that the highest storm surge that could have been generated at the site of landfall of TC Mahina is approximately 5 m, well short of the reported 13 m. This study reexamined the evidence for this event and based on archived firsthand accounts, it seems more likely that the central pressure of this event was 880 hPa, which when modeled can generate a storm surge over 9 m and a total inundation (surge plus tide and wave action) of approximately 13 m. The central pressure of TC Mahina may also be the lowest recorded for a Southern Hemisphere tropical cyc...