December 13, 1858 Tsunami: N. Moluccas Islands, Indonesia
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7.3 earthquake began at N. Moluccas Islands, Indonesia on December 13, 1858. Its effects were recorded at 9 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
- December 13, 1858
- Source
- N. Moluccas Islands, Indonesia
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 7.3
- Runups recorded
- 9
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- 1.5
- Tsunami magnitude (Iida)
- 2
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Questionable tsunami
- Source location
- 1.000° N, 126.000° E
The toll
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Many (101 to 1,000)
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:
1858, December 13 [or November 13], at 16:00 [local time]. There was a strong prolonged earthquake all over the Minahassa Peninsula. It began with several light vertical shocks and ended with "terrifying" horizontal oscillations.
Forty-five km to the north of Ternate Island, in Djailolo Bay, the ship "Ester Elena" and 17 km to the west of Ternate Island, the ship "Surinam" felt a strong seaquake.
The reports of the captains of the ships indicates that the entire eastern coast of Sulawesi Island from the Bangai archipelago in the south to the Sangihe Island in the north were hit by a destructive tsunami. Villages were destroyed.
Reference #79:
1858, November or (December 13). Banda Sea or Molucca Passage. Tsunami observed at Celebes - east coast, Banggai Island, Talaut Island, and Sangihe Island. Considerable damage.
Reference #1188:
1858, December 13. A moderate earthquake caused 15 sheds to fall. On Ternate, Tidore, Halmahera, Sangihe, Talaud, and Banggai islands a tsunami was observed.
Reference #40:
1858, November 13. Indonesia. Celebes, east coast. Considerable damage, (Heck 1947).
Reference #132:
1858, November 13. Celebes Islands, east coast. Considerable damage.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ternate Island | Indonesia | 155 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Tidore | Indonesia | 156 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Djailolo Bay | Indonesia | 161 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Halmahera | Indonesia | 168 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| West of Ternate Island | Indonesia | 168 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| E. Coast Sulawesi | Indonesia | 229 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Sangihe Is., Sulawesi | Indonesia | 269 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Talaud Island | Indonesia | 358 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Banggai Island | Indonesia | 395 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1858The 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 879.