August 5, 2018 Tsunami: Bali Sea, Indonesia
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 6.9 earthquake began at Bali Sea, Indonesia on August 5, 2018 at 11:46:38 UTC. The water rose as high as 2 meters. Its effects were recorded at 6 places. It killed 560 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
- August 5, 2018, 11:46:38 UTC
- Source
- Bali Sea, Indonesia
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 6.9, 34 km deep
- Maximum water height
- 2 m (6.6 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 6
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 8.258° S, 116.438° E
The toll
- Deaths
- 560 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Injuries
- 7,733 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Damage
- $509 million with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Houses destroyed
- Many (101 to 1,000) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Houses damaged
- 83,392 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.
The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) officially ended the early warning of the tsunami at 8:25 p.m., after an earthquake with magnitude 7.0 shook North Lombok on Sunday (5/8).
"The tsunami early warning ended. We ask people not to panic anymore," said Head of BMKG Pusat, Dwikorita Karnawati, Sunday (5/8).
Dwikorita explained, since the tsunami early warning was issued, BMKG had a small tsunami at three points. Each in Carik Village is 13.5 cm high, Badas Village is 10 cm, and Desa Sheet is 9 cm.
(all above from reference #12196)
[...] residents reported that they observed a solitary-like wave on the coastline right after the earthquake on the August 5, which was much larger than regular ocean waves. (reference #12923)
A tsunami height of approximately 2 meters was observed in Kayangan, Lombok (reference #14350)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carik | Indonesia | 4 | 0.14 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Kayangan, Lombok Island | Indonesia | 15 | 2 | 40 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||
| Tanjung, Lombok Island | Indonesia | 33 | 1.7 | 7 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||
| Lembar, Lombok | Indonesia | 66 | 0.09 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Badas | Indonesia | 105 | 0.1 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | |||
| Benoa, Bali Island | Indonesia | 146 | 0.02 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) |
More
Every tsunami in 2018The 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 5685.