November 28, 1708 Tsunami: Banda Sea, Indonesia
A tsunami caused by an earthquake began at Banda Sea, Indonesia on November 28, 1708. Its effects were recorded at 2 places.
Where the waves reached
The source (white) and every runup with a place, colored by the water height recorded there. A ring is a runup NCEI marks doubtful.
- Under 1 m
- 1 to 3 m
- 3 to 10 m
- 10 to 30 m
- 30 m and more
- Height not recorded
Travel times
How long the first wave took to reach each part of the ocean, one line for each hour up to 24, estimated from the source and the depth of the sea.
The travel times are computed in your browser, which needs JavaScript.
- 1 to 4 hours
- 5 to 6 hours
- 7 to 14 hours
- 15 hours and more
Computed in your browser the way NOAA’s own travel time maps are: the wave travels at the square root of gravity times the depth, over NOAA’s ETOPO1 depths averaged to a 10 arc-minute grid. Checked against NOAA NCEI’s maps for 21 tsunamis over the first 24 hours, these lines fall within 10 minutes of NCEI’s at half the points compared and within 52 minutes at 9 in 10. They give when the first wave could arrive, not how high it is; bays, harbors and island chains finer than the grid can see it later. Not for use in a warning: see tsunami.gov.
The tsunami
- Date
- November 28, 1708
- Source
- Banda Sea, Indonesia
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- The earthquake
- Runups recorded
- 2
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- 2
- Tsunami magnitude (Iida)
- 2
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Probable tsunami
- Source location
- 3.690° S, 128.150° E
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 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.
1708, November 28, between 22:00 and 23:00. A tidal wave burst into Ambon Bay with a loud noise and inundated the region as far as the homes on the slopes of Mount Batu Mera, east of the city. Streams flowed backwards, and bridges were smashed. Then the water again surged back in a strong current and retreated so far that it was scarcely visible. Both the flood and ebbs lasted so long that one could count to 100-150 during a single flood or ebb. The process lasted until 3:00 on the following day, after which these waves were not observed. A similar phenomenon occurred at midnight In Baguala Bay. No such phenomena were observed on other areas of the coast. (reference #414)
1708, November 28. Dutch East Indies, Amboina (sea 1674). Great sea wave with some damage. (reference #132)
1708, November 28. Indonesia. A large wave did some damage at Amboina. (reference #40)
Every runup
Nearest the source first. Heights are above sea level at the time; a tide gauge reads half the wave’s full height.
| Where | Country | Km from source | Water height, m | Inland, m | Measured by | First wave, UTC | Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ambon Bay | Indonesia | 4 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Baguala Bay, Ambon Island | Indonesia | 14 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1708The 1700sTsunamis of IndonesiaThe earthquakeThis day in weather historyAlerts in force
Sources
Tsunami events and runups 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 tsunami event 380.