January 8, 1984 Tsunami: Sulawesi, Indonesia
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 6.8 earthquake began at Sulawesi, Indonesia on January 8, 1984 at 15:24:13 UTC. It killed 2 people, counting the earthquake or eruption that caused it.
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
- January 8, 1984, 15:24:13 UTC
- Source
- Sulawesi, Indonesia
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 6.8, 33 km deep
- Runups recorded
- 0
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Very doubtful tsunami
- Source location
- 2.823° S, 118.806° E
The toll
- Deaths
- 2 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Injuries
- 89 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Damage
- $500,000 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Houses damaged
- 685 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.
A magnitude 6.6 Ms (USGS) earthquake at 15:24 UT at Sulawesi, Indonesia killed two, injured 23 and may have generated a tsunami in the Mamuju area. It was not mentioned in PDE or ISC in connection with the earthquake.
Reference #1188 states "This shock was also accompanied by a tsunami."
Mamuju, no record (?). (reference #1398)
More
Every tsunami in 1984The 1900sTsunamis 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 2151.