More meteorological tsunamis were recorded off Fremantle last year than anywhere else in Australia, according to researchers at the University of Western Australia.
Meteorological tsunamis, or meteotsunamis, are waves caused by weather events like cold fronts and thunderstorms rather than geological disturbances like earthquakes.
A meteotsunami was blamed for a large cargo ship breaking its moorings and hitting Fremantle Bridge during a storm in August last year.
UWA oceanographer and lead author of the study Charitha Pattiaratchi said 25 meteotsunamis were recorded off Fremantle last year compared to less than 10 across the rest of Australia.
"To put the force of these waves into perspective, a meteotsunami in June 2012 contributed to the highest ever water level recorded in Fremantle in more than 115 years and widespread flooding along Riverside Drive and the Kwinana Freeway," he said.
However most of those recorded off Fremantle were small, he said.
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