October 26, 1859 Tsunami: N. Moluccas Islands, Indonesia
A tsunami of unknown cause began at N. Moluccas Islands, Indonesia on October 26, 1859.
Where the waves reached
The source of the tsunami. No runup with a place is recorded for it.
- 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
- October 26, 1859
- Source
- N. Moluccas Islands, Indonesia
- Cause
- Unknown
- Runups recorded
- 0
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Erroneous entry
The toll
The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this tsunami.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
1859 Oct. 25 or 26. Indonesia, north Celebes, Kema. A powerful wave caused damage. (references #40 #132 and #79)
Refs #40, #132 and #79 are probably describing the same event that ref #414 lists on 1859 December 25.
1859, December (October) on the night of the 25th to the 26th and early in the morning of the 26th. There was a strong tidal wave at Kema. It reached the roof of coal shed No. 3 and even reached shed No. 2 further from shore. Some of the front gardens at the new moorage were washed off. (reference #414)
More
Every tsunami in 1859The 1800sTsunamis of IndonesiaThis 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 893.