Observed maximum water heights from tsunamis vary by up to two orders of magnitude for a given earthquake size, presenting a challenge to emergency management. We provide a quantitative framework to investigate the influence of rupture depth and rigidity in explaining such variability. The results highlight the importance of rapid estimation of shallow slip with available geophysical data if reliable warning of local tsunamis is to be realized.
Rupture depth helps explain variations in the size of tsunamis produced by earthquakes, according to numerical modelling and an array of observations.