Tsunamis in 2019

August 2, 2019 Tsunami: W. Java, Indonesia

August 2, 2019 · 8 deaths · 13 houses destroyed · Questionable tsunami

A tsunami caused by a magnitude 6.9 earthquake began at W. Java, Indonesia on August 2, 2019 at 12:03:27 UTC. Its effects were recorded at 6 places. It killed 8 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

Tsunami warnings in force

The tsunami

Date
August 2, 2019, 12:03:27 UTC
Source
W. Java, Indonesia
Cause
Earthquake
Runups recorded
6
Waters
Ocean
How certain
Questionable tsunami
Source location
7.282° S, 104.791° E

The toll

Deaths
8 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
Injuries
8 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
Damage
Moderate (about $1 to $5 million) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
Houses destroyed
13 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
Houses damaged
458 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.

NOTE: reference #13412 suggests a tsunami observed, however, the "tsunami" signal is very small and in the figures provided there are bigger variations before the tsunami arrival and significant discrepancies in the frequencies between the observed and modeled waveforms. Reference #13412 provides a very short segment of the tide gauge records, variations in bays/ports/etc. of ~2 cm or smaller could be generated by many factors. Reference #13412 does not say anything about variations outside of the provided tsunami segment. As a result, further analysis is needed to confirm possible tsunami. (see reference #13413)

Every runup

Nearest the source first. Heights are above sea level at the time; a tide gauge reads half the wave’s full height.

WhereCountryKm from sourceWater height, mInland, mMeasured byFirst wave, UTCDeaths
Sebesi Island doubtfulIndonesia169Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Ciwandan Port doubtfulIndonesia190Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Palabuhan (Pelabuhan) Ratu doubtfulIndonesia196Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Kota Agung doubtfulIndonesia198Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Bengkunat doubtfulIndonesia205Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)
Krui doubtfulIndonesia251Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height)

More

Every tsunami in 2019The 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 5870.