December 17, 1979 Earthquake: Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa Island, Indonesia
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa Island, Indonesia on December 17, 1979 at 19:58:23 UTC, 33 km below the surface. It killed 27 people.
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 17, 1979
- Time
- 19:58:23 UTC
- Place
- Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa Island, Indonesia
- Magnitude
- 6.3 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 33 km (21 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 8.390° S, 115.889° E
- Country
- Indonesia
The toll
- Deaths
- 27
- Injuries
- 200
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 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.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- November 22, 1815, Bali, Indonesia
- January 20, 1917, Bali, Indonesia
- July 14, 1976, Bali, Indonesia
- August 5, 2018, Lombok Island, Indonesia
- May 13, 1857, Dilhi, Gera, Timor Island, Indonesia
- May 30, 1979, Sumbawa Island, Indonesia
- July 28, 2018, Lombok Island, Indonesia
- August 19, 2018, Lombok Island, Indonesia
- August 9, 2018, Lombok Island, Indonesia
- March 17, 2019, Lombok Island, Indonesia
- October 10, 2018, Madura Island, Java, Indonesia
- October 15, 2021, Karangasem, Bangli, Bali, Indonesia
- October 20, 1979, Sumbawa Island, Indonesia
- August 19, 2018, Lombok Island, Indonesia
- January 1, 2004, Bali, Lombok, Indonesia
More
Significant earthquakes of 1979The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1979Recent 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 4867.