Significant earthquakes of 1852

January 9, 1852 Earthquake: Telukbetung, Djakarta, Sumatra, Java, Indonesia

January 9, 1852 · M6.5

A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Telukbetung, Djakarta, Sumatra, Java, Indonesia on January 9, 1852, 150 km below the surface. 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
January 9, 1852
Place
Telukbetung, Djakarta, Sumatra, Java, Indonesia
Magnitude
6.5 (Ms)
Focal depth
150 km (93 mi)
Intensity
VIII, severe shaking, on the Modified Mercalli scale
Epicenter
6.500° S, 105.500° E
Country
Indonesia
Region
South and Southeast Asia and Indian Ocean

The toll

Damage
Limited (under about $1 million)
Houses damaged
Few (about 1 to 50)

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:

1852, January 9, soon after 18:00 [local time]. There was an earthquake, which spread from the western part of Java to the southern part of Sumatra. At Djakarta (Batavia), two rather strong and several weak shocks were felt. One of them, at 18:09, stopped the astronomical clock. At Bogor (Buitenzorg), there were three strong tremors at 18:25. At Djaringin, there were three very strong shocks and about four weak ones, in rapid succession, accompanied by an underground rumble; they lasted 2 minutes. There was a rather strong shock at Serang. At 18:25, there were strong horizontal shocks at Telukbetung. They recurred twice, at short intervals; the duration was 3 minutes. At 20:00, there was an unexpected rise and then a fall in sea level, which recurred several times.

Reference #1188:

1852, January 9. Teluk Betung: South Sumatera - an earth tremor was felt in Teluk Betung and caused damage

to buildings and houses. Intensity VII-VIII.

Sources NCEI cites

The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.

  1. #1188 Soetardjo, M. Untung, and E.P. Arnold (1985). Southeast Asia Association of Seismology, Series on Seismology, vol. V - Indonesia, U.S. Geological Survey.
  2. #414 Soloviev, S.L., and Ch.N. Go (1974). A catalogue of tsunamis on the western shore of the Pacific Ocean [dates include 173-1968. Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Nauka Publishing House, Moscow, 439 p. [Canadian Translation of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences no. 5077, 1984, translation available from Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information, National Research Council, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A OS2, 447 p.]

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

More

Significant earthquakes of 1852The 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 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 9907.