An Irish oceanographer has confirmed that Ireland could be in the path of a future tsunami as similar tidal events have hit our coastline in the past.
The Irish coast is at risk of being hit by huge waves, of up to 2 metres high, that could be caused by major earthquakes, underwater landslides or meteorological disturbances.
The Lisbon Earthquake of 1755 was one of the biggest tsunami-like events ever recorded in Ireland and was caused by a catastrophic earthquake in Portugal over 260 years ago. It measured 7.7 on the magnitude scale and sent a ginormous wave to England, North Africa and Ireland, affecting parts of Cork, Galway and Clare.
Dr Martin White, an oceanographer at the University of Galway, confirmed it would be possible for something like this to happen again, saying: “In short, yes. It has happened in the past.
READ MORE: Psychic claims Ireland is in the path of a major 'tsunami' in grim warning to 'watch the water'
“The Lisbon earthquake definitely was seen to have some impact on Ireland. It was relatively small. Down in the south coast and south wes, there were reports of back-and-forth movement in the water, very quickly.”
And it’s not the only time Ireland has seen worrying tidal activity.
“Kilmore Quay had a similar event almost 100 years later [in 1854],” said Dr White, a professor in the school of Earth and Ocean Sciences. “It was nearly low tide and people working in the harbour there saw a big rush of water come round the islands and came up a metre, almost two metres, put all the boats afloat, broke a few things and knocked a few people over.
“They said if it had happened at high tide it could have been a lot more dangerous. The water went back and forth six or seven times over the course of a couple of hours.
“But these sort of things aren’t the tsunamis that are typically generated by large tectonic earthquake-type but possibly down to extreme meteorological conditions.”
Modelling from the UK shows that in the event of another Lisbon-like earthquake, the most exposed place for a tsunami to hit Ireland would be the south coast with waves potentially reaching up to 2.5 metres high in some areas.
Waves could reach 1 to 2 metres high, and even up to 2.5 metres in some areas of Cork such as Rosscarbery and Kinsale, according to a 2006 paper titled ‘Tsunamis - Assessing the hazard for the UK and Irish coast’.
Dr White estimates that if a tsunami were to happen again in Lisbon it would reach Ireland in around three to four hours.
This comes after a self-proclaimed 'psychic' sensationally predicted that the west coast of Ireland will be hit by a 'tsunami' later this year.
Aeron Lazar, a multidimensional psychic, took to TikTok on Monday to warn that there is a "major event coming" in November that will involve the Atlantic Ocean and people should "watch the water".
While his predictions are not based in science, Ireland does in fact have the potential to be hit by a tsunami and unusual wave activity has been observed in Irish waters as recently as June this year.
In June 2022, a mini-tsunami was recorded in West Cork that saw two harbours in Union Hall and Courtmacsherry almost drain of water and then refill in quick succession.
However, experts believe that the freak tidal incident was a meteotsunami, caused by an atmospheric disturbance, rather than triggered by an earthquake.
Perhaps the most terrifying possible scenario would be a tsunami triggered by an underwater landslide in the Atlantic Ocean.
The Canary Islands are at risk of undergoing a large landslide following a volcanic eruption that could deposit huge slabs of rock into the sea. This in turn could cause a giant tsunami in the Atlantic Ocean that would reach Ireland with “catastrophic” consequences.
However, it is much more likely that material would break off the volcano in stages rather than all in one go.
“In the Canary Islands landslide scenario, if it all goes in one, then it could be catastrophic,” said Dr White.
“But there’s a lot of evidence that many of these landslides in the Canary Islands over the last couple of million years have been multi-phased, in partial slumps, and not all at once.”
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