December 12, 1890 Earthquake: Pati, Java, Indonesia

Name: December 12, 1890 Earthquake: Pati, Java, Indonesia
Start: 1890-12-12
Location: Pati, Java, Indonesia

December 12, 1890 · Deaths: some

An earthquake struck Pati, Java, Indonesia on December 12, 1890.

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 12, 1890
Place: Pati, Java, Indonesia
Intensity: 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
Tsunami: None recorded
Epicenter: 6.760° S, 111.040° E
Country: Indonesia

The toll

Deaths: Some (about 51 to 100)
Damage: Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
Houses destroyed: Many (101 to 1,000)

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.

1890, December 12. Intensity VII. Pati: Central Java - this quake also felt at Juwana; caused many houses to fall. Several

people killed and injured. (reference #1188)

1890, December 12. 7h 50m a.m. Java, Djoewana in Japara and over great part of Java. 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 #1055)

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

Significant earthquakes of 1890 The 1800s Recent earthquakes near here This 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 2404.