October 10, 1896 Tsunami: SW. Sumatra, Indonesia
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 6.8 earthquake began at SW. Sumatra, Indonesia on October 10, 1896. 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
The tsunami
- Date
- October 10, 1896
- Source
- SW. Sumatra, Indonesia
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 6.8
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- 0
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Questionable tsunami
- Source location
- 3.500° S, 102.500° E
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Houses damaged
- Few (about 1 to 50) 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.
1896, October 10, 17:30 (local time). 3.5 S, 102.5 E, depth 130 km, magnitude 6.75 MS. There was an earthquake on the southwestern coast of the islands of Sumatra and Java. At Gunungsitoli, there were undulating, not strong, movements. For an hour after, the sea was considerably more restless (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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gunungsitoli, Nias Island | Indonesia | 761 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1896The 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 1235.