August 18, 1754 Tsunami: Banda Sea, Indonesia
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 6.5 earthquake began at Banda Sea, Indonesia on August 18, 1754. Its effects were recorded at 3 places. It killed 4 people, counting the earthquake or eruption that caused it.
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
The tsunami
- Date
- August 18, 1754
- Source
- Banda Sea, Indonesia
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 6.5
- Runups recorded
- 3
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- 0
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Probable tsunami
- Source location
- 3.500° S, 128.500° E
The toll
- Deaths
- 4 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Houses destroyed
- Some (about 51 to 100) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Houses damaged
- Some (about 51 to 100) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
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:
1754, August 18, immediately after 15:30. There was an earthquake on the islands of Ambon, Haruku, Saparua, and Laot. It began with undulating movements, followed immediately by a strong shock. At Ambon, a bazaar, resting on 60 stone pillars, collapsed; several other buildings
were also destroyed; four people died in the debris. The other homes cracked. Cracks two fingers or more across appeared in the ground at many places. A mud flow burst from Mount Ratu Elera east of the city. The walls of buildings were damaged at Hila as well as at Hitulama, on the north coast. At Hutumuri, on the eastern coast of the island, a tidal wave followed a strong earthquake.
On Haruku Island, water gushed up at many places and some walls of buildings collapsed. The earthquake was followed by a tsunami, which however, soon stopped. On Saparua Island, the earthquake did not do substantial damage
to structures. A tidal wave was also noticed here. An earthquake was felt on Manipa Island.
Reference #132:
1754, August 18. Dutch East Indies, Amboina, southeast coast. Moderate sea wave.
Reference #40:
1754, August 18. Indonesia. Moderate wave reported from the southeast coast of Amboina.
Reference #79:
1754, August 18. Amboina, Indonesia. Tsunami listed by Heck citing Belcher (1843). Belcher deals solely with the Mexican seismic record. This report probably represents confusion of Belcher's Aug. 17 Acapulco tsunami, Wichmann's Sept. 7 tsunami, and a listing by Mallet (1853) on Aug. 18 of the first quake in the series which terminated Sept. 22.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haruku Island | Indonesia | 14 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Saparua Island | Indonesia | 18 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Hutumuri, Ambon Island | Indonesia | 32 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1754The 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 449.