October 8, 1950 Earthquake: Seram, Indonesia

Name: October 8, 1950 Earthquake: Seram, Indonesia
Start: 1950-10-08
Location: Seram, Indonesia

October 8, 1950 · M7.6 · 1 death

A magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck Seram, Indonesia on October 8, 1950 at 03:23:09 UTC, 60 km below the surface. It killed 1 person, counting the tsunami it caused.

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: October 8, 1950
Time: 03:23:09 UTC
Place: Seram, Indonesia
Magnitude: 7.6 (Ms)
Focal depth: 60 km (37 mi)
Tsunami: Yes: the tsunami it caused
Epicenter: 3.800° S, 128.300° E
Country: Indonesia

The toll

Deaths: 1 with its tsunami and other effects
Damage: Severe (about $5 to $25 million) with its tsunami and other effects
Houses destroyed: Many (101 to 1,000) with its tsunami and other effects
Houses damaged: Many (101 to 1,000) with its tsunami and other effects

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 #88:

1950, October 8, 03:23:09 UTC. 3.8 S, 128.3 E, depth shallow, magnitude 7.6.

Reference #45:

1950, October 8, 03:23:07 UTC. Banda Sea, 3 S, 128 E, magnitude 7.6

Reference #3571:

Newspaper article said that "waves reaching 656 feet inland demolished Galala (population 1,000), near the capital city of Amboina, and the southeast coastal village of Hutumuri (population 2,000).

Reference #414:

1950, October 8. A call for help came from Ambon Island because of a strong earthquake and gigantic tidal wave. A large number of victims was feared.

[8.X; 3h23m09s; 4o S., 128o E.; M=7.3.

Reference #11611:

In Hative Kecil and Galala village, the eyewitnesses also said that they felt the earthquake on Sunday, 8 October 1950 around noon. The people had just returned from church and about to have lunch. The children were getting ready for the Sunday school. "They felt the strong shaking".

In Hutumuri, based on the interviews, most of the eyewitnesses stated that they felt a strong ground-shaking phenomenon on Sunday afternoon after leaving the Sunday sermon at the church. Several said that they felt the earth shook several times - "The first shaking was not too strong, the second is stronger, but the strongest was the third one".

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

Significant earthquakes of 1950 The 1900s Every quake the USGS located in 1950 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 3955.