November 8, 1818 Tsunami: Bali Sea, Indonesia
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 8.5 earthquake began at Bali Sea, Indonesia on November 8, 1818. The water rose as high as 3.5 meters. Its effects were recorded at 1 place.
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 8, 1818
- Source
- Bali Sea, Indonesia
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 8.5, 600 km deep
- Maximum water height
- 3.5 m (11.5 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- 2
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Questionable tsunami
- Source location
- 7.000° S, 117.000° E
The toll
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Houses destroyed
- Many (101 to 1,000) 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.
1818, November 8. Java Island. There was an earthquake, which spread over the entire island and was especially strong in its eastern part (at Banjuwangi and Pasuruan). A seaquake was registered in Bali Strait. A strong shock was felt in the vicinity of Pasuruan at about 23:15; it was followed by six or seven weaker shocks. The duration was almost 4 minutes. A shock was also felt at Malang. In addition, an eruption of the Lamongan volcano occurred at night (Wichmann, 1918, ref #2705). In the same year (date unknown), large earthquake lasting 3 minutes occurred at Bima (Sumbawa Island). The shocks were so strong that people could not stand, and all stone structures crumbled. In the bay, the sea level rose 3 1/2 m (2 fathoms), and a tidal wave fell on the city (Wichmann, 1918 ref #2705; Cox, 1970, ref #2689). According to Sieberg (1932, ref #1576), both reports relate to the same event. (reference #414)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bima, Sumbawa Island | Indonesia | 249 | 3.5 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1818The 1800sTsunamis 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 622.