August 1878 Tsunami: Tagriland Island, Indonesia
A tsunami caused by a volcano began at Tagriland Island, Indonesia in August 1878.
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
- August 1878
- Source
- Tagriland Island, Indonesia
- Cause
- Volcano
- Runups recorded
- 0
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Very doubtful tsunami
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.
1878, August. Tagriland Island, in the Malaysian archipelago, was completely devastated by the sea; at the same time, an earthquake and volcanic eruption occurred on Burrang Island; many craters were formed; a new island appeared from under the water and disappeared again. [Most likely, this is a distorted account of the events of 2.III.1871; the matter concerns Tahulandang Island and the Ruang Volcano.] (reference #414)
More
Every tsunami in 1878The 1800sTsunamis of IndonesiaAlerts 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 1108.