The northwest coast of Australia is the country’s most vulnerable hotspot for tsunamis, according to new data from GeoScience Australia.

The area most susceptible to tsunamis runs between Geraldton, 424km north of Perth, to the northwestern tip of WA, a distance of more than 3370km.

The area sits near the boundary of the seismically active Indonesian tectonic plate. Indonesia sits on the so-called Ring of Fire, a line of volcanoes and earthquake-prone regions running around the Pacific Ocean.

GeoScience Australia’s new Tsunami Hazard Assessment tool has data for more than 500,000 earthquake-tsunami scenarios in Australia, including data from tsunamis that occurred in the last decade.

More than 50 tsunamis have been recorded hitting the Australian coastline since European settlement. The Geraldton marina in WA was damaged during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

Hazard modeller Gareth Davies says the update reflects advances in Geoscience Australia’s understanding of how frequently tsunami-causing earthquakes occur.

“This data will allow us to more accurately estimate the predicted tsunami hazard for specific locations. It was not included in earlier updates, as most of the tsunamis in the test-set occurred after 2008,” Dr Davies said.

The research body also recently updated its National Seismic Hazard Assessment, naming the Wheatbelt region in WA and Gippsland in Victoria as the areas most vulnerable to earthquakes.