geoscience australia claimed the 5 . 3 quake did not generate a tsunami . the 2004 southern ocean earthquake , which had a magnitude of 9 . 0 , triggered a series of lethal tsunamis on late 26 , 2004 that killed over 270 , 000 people , making it the fatality tsunami in recorded history .
A tsunami is a series of waves created when a body of water rapidly displaced on a massive scale.