Lyttelton 

Data kindly supplied by Lyttelton Port Co. Ltd.

Sumatra Tsunami at Lyttelton
Time of arrival of first wave* 25.0 h
Time of arrival of highest wave* 40.9 h
Height of the highest wave 477 mm
Period of the highest wave 54 min

* hours after the earthquake.

Commentary

The tsunami waves arrived in two groups, with the first having slightly longer periods than the second. They excited the 12-minute seiche in the harbour. The waves continued for several days.

Figure 1. Sumatra tsunami at Lyttelton showing: A. long wave record; B. height of each wave; and C. period of each wave. EQ denotes the time of the earthquake (12:59 on 26 December 2004, NZST), TOA denotes time of arrival of first waves.

Figure 2. Sumatra tsunami at Lyttelton showing: A. long wave record; B. significant (red) and maximum (blue) wave heights; C. period of significant waves; and D. distribution of significant wave height with time and period. EQ denotes the time of the earthquake (12:59 on 26 December 2004, NZST).

How were these calculated?
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