1770 Eruption of Dempo
Dempo in Indonesia erupted in 1770. It caused a tsunami.
Where it erupted
Dempo, Indonesia.
The eruption
- Date
- 1770
- Volcano
- Dempo, stratovolcano
- Country
- Indonesia
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Earthquake
- Yes: the earthquake with it
- Location
- 4.016° S, 103.121° E
The toll
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million) with the tsunamis, mudflows and other effects it caused
- Houses destroyed
- Many (101 to 1,000) with the tsunamis, mudflows and other effects it caused
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.
Reference #414:
As Wichmann notes, the year given is tentative. The event could have coincided with the earthquake experienced at Bengkulu by Ch. Miller, who says: "One earthquake, in particular, after my arrival here was very strong and did much damage in the country. The Dempo Volcano, visible from Fort Malboro at Bengkulu and smoking almost constantly, ejected flames during the earthquake" (Wichmann, 1918).
Reference #8795:
No date, 1770. The 1770 shock caused severe damage in the same general area as the 1756 event, but a tsunami was associated with it. An eruption of the nearest volcano occurred simultaneously with this event.
More
Sources
Volcanoes and significant eruptions 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. Volcano numbers are the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program’s. NCEI event 7542.