September 2, 2009 Tsunami: Java Sea, Indonesia
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7 earthquake began at Java Sea, Indonesia on September 2, 2009 at 07:55:01 UTC. The water rose as high as 0.4 meters. Its effects were recorded at 2 places. It killed 81 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
- September 2, 2009, 07:55:01 UTC
- Source
- Java Sea, Indonesia
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 7, 46 km deep
- Maximum water height
- 0.4 m (1.3 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 2
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 7.782° S, 107.297° E
The toll
- Deaths
- 81 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Injuries
- 1,297 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Houses damaged
- 54,000 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.
On 2 September 2009, a M7.4 earthquake occurred in the Java Sea (7.81◦ S/107.26◦ E, Fig. 6a) (GEOFON, 2009). This earthquake caused a small tsunami (Fig. 6b) which was recorded at the BAKOSURTANAL tide gauge sites of Pameungpeuk (7.66 S/107.68 E) and Pelabuhan ratu (6.98 S/106.54 E). (reference #10258)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pameungpeuk (Pamengpeuk), Java | Indonesia | 44 | 0.4 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 2, 08:06 | ||
| Palabuhan (Pelabuhan) Ratu | Indonesia | 122 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) |
More
Every tsunami in 2009The 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 5734.