January 4, 1840 Tsunami: Java, Indonesia

Name: January 4, 1840 Tsunami: Java, Indonesia
Start: 1840-01-04
Location: Java, Indonesia

January 4, 1840 · Questionable tsunami

A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7 earthquake began at Java, Indonesia on January 4, 1840. 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

Tsunami warnings in force

The tsunami

Date: January 4, 1840
Source: Java, Indonesia
Cause: Earthquake
Earthquake: Magnitude 7, 150 km deep
Runups recorded: 1
Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura): 0
Waters: Ocean
How certain: Questionable tsunami
Source location: 8.000° S, 110.500° E

The toll

Damage: Severe (about $5 to $25 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.

1840, January 4, about 13:15 (local time), 8 S, 110.5 E, depth 150 km, magnitude 7. There was an earthquake in the middle of Java Island. The walls of homes cracked at Patjitan; the earthquake was accompanied by a tidal wave.

(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
Patjitan, Java	Indonesia	70			Eyewitness observation of water height

Every tsunami in 1840 The 1800s Tsunamis of Indonesia The earthquake This day in weather history Alerts 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 715.