Significant earthquakes of 1828

December 29, 1828 Earthquake: Sulawesi, Indonesia

December 29, 1828 · Deaths: many

An earthquake struck Sulawesi, Indonesia on December 29, 1828. It caused a tsunami.

Map

Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.

The earthquake

Date
December 29, 1828
Place
Sulawesi, Indonesia
Intensity
9 on the Modified Mercalli scale
Epicenter
7.000° S, 119.000° E
Country
Indonesia

The toll

Deaths
Many (about 101 to 1,000)
Damage
Severe (about $5 to $25 million)

Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.

What the record says

NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.

Reference #414:

1828, December 29. A repeated date in some sources for the earthquake and tsunami of 29.XII.1820.

Reference #1188:

1828, December 29, intensity VIII-IX. Bulukumba: In South Sulawesi a destructive earthquake occurred and caused severe damage to buildings; hundreds of people were killed.

Reference #1055:

1828, December 29. Celebes, Macassar, Boelekomba with sea waves, intensity II which corresponds to buildings may be unroofed or shattered and some may fall, the ground may be badly cracked in places and small landslips occur.

Reference #12633:

South Sulawesi. No tsunami. Death toll: hundreds of people. Damage: buildings badly damaged

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

More

Significant earthquakes of 1828The 1800sRecent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history

Sources

Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 1722.