July 29, 1859 Tsunami: N. Moluccas Islands, Indonesia
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7.3 earthquake began at N. Moluccas Islands, Indonesia on July 29, 1859. The water rose as high as 1 meters. Its effects were recorded at 5 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
- July 29, 1859
- Source
- N. Moluccas Islands, Indonesia
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 7.3
- Maximum water height
- 1 m (3.3 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 5
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- 1.5
- Tsunami magnitude (Iida)
- 1
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 0.009° N, 125.500° E
The toll
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Some (about 51 to 100)
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:
1859, July 29, 13:30. There was a strong earthquake at Manado. It lasted 5 minutes and threatened to overturn everything. The shocks were felt almost without interruption until 16:30. Later, in the evening and at night, they returned, but there were now intervals between them.
During the earthquake the sea at Kema was very agitated. The huts and goods which were on the beach were washed off. The earthquake was strong at Gorontalo, Boalemo and Mondono. On Bangai Island, a strong tsunami washed off homes which were situated on a low terrace, and also a herd of goats and sheep.
On the same day at 15:15, there was a strong and prolonged earthquake on Ternate Island (apparently, it was the same earthquake as the one on Sulawesi Island). Cracks opened up at many places in the ground. Although they closed up at once, traces remained on the surface, as if someone had been digging in the ground. Despite its magnitude, the earthquake did not cause considerable damage. There were many recurrent shocks.
The earthquake was accompanied by oscillations of the sea, which rose 1 m (3 feet) above the high watermark, although it was ebb tide. The ship "Freundschap," riding in the roadstead, found itself on dry bottom when the water retreated. The rigging shook on board The naval vessels "Surinam" and "Bali." The earthquake was felt and was accompanied by similar oscillations in sea level on the islands of Tidore and Makian.
Reference #40:
1859, July 29. Indonesia, Celebes, Manado and Kema. Moderate sea wave, (Heck 1947, Milne 1912a).
Reference #132:
1895, July 29. Celebes Islands, Menado and Kema. Moderate sea wave.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kema, Sulawesi Island | Indonesia | 158 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Makian Island | Indonesia | 218 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Tidore Island | Indonesia | 222 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Ternate Island | Indonesia | 227 | 1 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Banggai Island | Indonesia | 280 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1859The 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 882.