May 4, 2000 Tsunami: Sulawesi, Indonesia
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7.6 earthquake began at Sulawesi, Indonesia on May 4, 2000 at 04:21:16 UTC. The water rose as high as 6 meters. Its effects were recorded at 2 places. It killed 54 people, counting the earthquake or eruption that caused it.
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
- May 4, 2000, 04:21:16 UTC
- Source
- Sulawesi, Indonesia
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 7.6, 26 km deep
- Maximum water height
- 6 m (19.7 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 2
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 1.105° S, 123.573° E
The toll
- Deaths
- 54
- Injuries
- 264
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million); $30 million with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Houses destroyed
- Very many (over 1,000); 23,000 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.
Much of the damage east of Luwuk and on Peleng was caused by a local tsunami with estimated wave heights up to six meters. (reference #1053)
On May 4, 2000 an earthquake occurred off Sulawesi Indonesia in the Maluku Sea, killing 38 with many more injured and homeless especially in Banggai in the Peleng Islands. According to an e-mail posted to the Tsunami Bulletin Board from Fumihiko Imamura, local Indonesian news sources reported that a 2m tsunami inundated the villages of Kayuntanyo and Uwedikum. Sources also report runup along the coast East of Luwuk. (reference #9793)
Reference #12917 lists the tsunami as having killed 50 people.
earthquake and tsunami waves killed 46 people, 264 injured. Most of thee damagee east of Luwuk and on Peeleng was caused by tsunami waves which reached heights up to 6 meters (reference #13453)
A 3m tsunami hits several villages on the tip of Eastern part of Central Sulawesi and its surrounding islands. The earthquake and tsunami caused 54 deaths, more than 264 injuries, and destroyed at least 23.000 houses (reference #13454)
Note: earthquake and tsunami effects cannot be separated
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peleng Is, Banggai Is, Sulawesi | Indonesia | 30 | 6 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Luwuk, Banggai Is, Pulau, Sulawesi | Indonesia | 63 | 6 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 2000The 2000sTsunamis 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 2338.