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Earth-Science Reviews 114 (2012) 175–193

Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect

Earth-Science Reviews
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/earscirev

Tsunamis of the northeast Indian Ocean with a particular focus on the Bay of Bengal
region—A synthesis and review
Edris Alam a, b,⁎, Dale Dominey-Howes a, Catherine Chagué-Goff a, c, James Goff a
a
Australia–Pacific Tsunami Research Centre and Natural Hazard Research Laboratory, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales,
Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
b
Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Chittagong, Chittagong-4331, Bangladesh
c
Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Locked Bag 2001, Kirrawee DC, NSW 2232, Australia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami (2004 IOT) challenged assumptions about the level of regional hazard. Sig-
Received 20 April 2011 nificantly, there has been some debate about the hypothesis that the northern Bay of Bengal may be capable
Accepted 11 May 2012 of generating large tsunamis similar to the 2004 IOT. To test this hypothesis, we documented historical and
Available online 28 May 2012
palaeotsunamis in the northeast Indian Ocean. Using multiple sources, we identified 135 purported tsunamis.
After completing a process of validity assessment, we categorised 31 definite tsunamis, 27 probable tsunamis,
Keywords:
Tsunamis
51 doubtful tsunamis and 20 events that only caused a seiche or disturbance in an inland river. Six of the pur-
Records ported events were identified as either cyclones or earthquakes without any associated tsunamis. Using the
Indian Ocean reported list of 135 events, we identified different tsunamigenic regions and explored the temporal distribu-
Bay of Bengal tion of past events, with the oldest event dated to around 38,000BC (although the dated material is most like-
Hazard ly reworked and this was probably a Holocene event). The second oldest event dated to 3000–2000BC.
Bangladesh Historical records indicate that only one definite tsunami, occurring in AD1762, was generated in the north-
ern Bay of Bengal. We encountered a number of significant challenges in reviewing and analysing data con-
tained within the documents and sources we consulted. Statistical analysis of tsunami data from AD1710 to
AD2010 suggests that the occurrence of a tsunami affecting the coasts of Bangladesh and Myanmar is 0.99% in
any given year, and 63% in a century. We recognise that this incomplete tsunami dataset limits the capacity to
fully quantify the hazard. As such, we recommend further ‘deep’ archival research coupled with regional pal-
aeotsunami studies to gain a more sophisticated understanding of the hazard.
© 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
2. Previous tsunami catalogues and studies in the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
2.1. Catalogues and lists of Indian Ocean tsunamis published before the 2004 IOT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
2.2. Catalogues and lists of Indian Ocean tsunamis published after the 2004 IOT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
3. Methods and approach—development of the new database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
4. Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
5. Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
5.1. Validity assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
5.2. Spatial and temporal distribution of events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
5.3. Tsunamis in the northern Bay of Bengal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
5.4. Cross-checking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
5.4.1. Incorrect and incomplete citations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
5.4.2. Difference in dating for the same event. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
5.4.3. Contradictory descriptions: earthquake, tsunami and cyclone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
5.4.4. Exaggeration of casualty numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
5.4.5. Differences in magnitude of earthquakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

⁎ Corresponding author at: Australia–Pacific Tsunami Research Centre and Natural Hazard Research Laboratory, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University
of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia. Tel.: +61 2 9385 8231; fax: +61 2 9385 1558.
E-mail addresses: edris.alam@student.unsw.edu.au (E. Alam), dale.dh@unsw.edu.au (D. Dominey-Howes), c.chague-goff@unsw.edu.au (C. Chagué-Goff), j.goff@unsw.edu.au
(J. Goff).

0012-8252/$ – see front matter © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2012.05.002
 Author's personal copy

176 E. Alam et al. / Earth-Science Reviews 114 (2012) 175–193

6. Palaeotsunamis in the Bay of Bengal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

7. Questions arising and recommendations for further work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
8. Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

1. Introduction
The Bay of Bengal and adjacent coasts (Fig. 1) are at risk from multiple
hazards, including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tropical cyclones,
storms, floods and tsunamis. Ostensibly, the Indian Ocean was not
recognised as having a particularly high tsunami hazard compared to
other regions of the world such as the Pacific Ocean (Berninghausen,
1966; Murty and Rafiq, 1991; Murty and Bapat, 1999; Rastogi, 2007).
This view changed abruptly on the 26 December 2004 when a submarine
earthquake (Mw 9.2) offshore of NW Sumatra triggered the most cata-
strophic tsunami the modern world has known (Liu et al., 2005;
Cummins, 2007). It was not the first event of this magnitude, nor will it
be the last (Jankaew et al., 2008; Monecke et al., 2008; Mörner et al.,
2008).
Whilst earthquakes in the region are frequent, large tsunamis ap-
pear to be moderately rare—with recurrence intervals of a few hundred
years or so (Berninghausen, 1966; Sukhtankar et al., 1993; Murty and
Bapat, 1999; Cummins, 2007; Dominey-Howes et al., 2007; Gupta and
Gahalaut, 2009). To mitigate any future tsunami risk to vulnerable
coastal populations, it is necessary to quantify the hazard (IFRC, 2002;
UNDP, 2004; DfID, 2005; UNISDR, 2005; Dall'Osso and Dominey-
Howes, 2010). A Probabilistic Tsunami Hazard Assessment (PTHA) is
one approach (Lin and Tung, 1982; Ward, 2002; Geist, 2005; Geist
and Parsons, 2006; Power et al., 2007) but PTHAs are limited by the
availability of geological data and seismic sources for known or inferred
events for the ‘historical’ period (Geist and Parsons, 2006). Further, all
PTHAs only use seismic sources and as such, ‘miss’ important additional
triggers of tsunamis such as volcanic eruptions that are known to have
affected the Indian Ocean region (e.g., Krakatau in AD1883) (Simkin
and Fiske, 1983; van den Bergh et al., 2003). As such, the sole reliance
upon PTHAs for tsunami hazard quantification is unwise.
Tsunami hazard assessment may be significantly enhanced by
reviewing available records of past events—written and geological
(Dominey-Howes, 2002; Satake and Atwater, 2007; Heidarzadeh et
al., 2008; Goff et al., 2010). To this end, several authors have noted the
dearth of published accounts, records or datasets of tsunamis affecting
the Bay of Bengal (Murty and Rafiq, 1991; Dominey-Howes et al.,
2007; Jankaew et al., 2008). This is problematic since it is highly likely
that some historical tsunamis have not been reported for a variety of
reasons (Berninghausen, 1966). The absence of records of tsunamis
should therefore not be used to infer that no events occurred. The ab-
sence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
Significantly, the issue of tsunami hazard in the Bay of Bengal be-
came more complex when Cummins (2007) suggested that an earth-
quake generated within the Arakan Subduction Zone (ASZ) (Fig. 1) in
the northern Bay of Bengal in AD1762, may have triggered a large tsu-
nami similar to the 2004 IOT. Cummins (2007) cited the results of
geophysical analysis to constrain the structure of the subduction
zone in which the earthquake probably occurred and used that data
to ‘model’ a possible tsunami (Fig. 2). Accounts published shortly
after the event by Gulston (1763), Hirst (1763) and Verelst (1763)
described liquefaction, subsidence and uplift, infrastructure damage
and human casualties associated with the AD1762 event in the region
of Chittagong, Bangladesh. The suggestion by Cummins (2007) of

Fig. 1. Map of the Indian Ocean including the Bay of Bengal and surrounding countries. The red, green, and yellow solid lines, and the blue dashed line indicate convergent, transform,
divergent and diffuse plate boundaries respectively. The purple line shows the location of the inferred tsunamigenic zones of the Indus Delta and the Kutch-Saurashtra (Jaiswal et al.,
2008). Rates of plate motion with reference to the Indian Plate are given in mm/yr and are adapted from Gahalaut and Gahalaut (2007). SF = Sagaing Fault, ASZ = Arakan Subduction
Zone, AT = Andaman Trench, SSZ = Sunda Subduction Zone, SJT = Sunda Java Trench, MSZ = Makran Subduction Zone, ASRTFS = Andaman Sea Ridge Transform Fault System, SP =
Sunda Plate, GSF = Great Sumatra Fault. The red squares show the locations of major volcanic eruptions/centres. The red stars show the locations of major historical earthquakes. (For
interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
 Author's personal copy
E. Alam et al. / Earth-Science Reviews 114 (2012) 175–193
Fig. 2. Modelled maximum offshore heights of tsunami based on the AD1762 earthquake. The rectangle along the eastern coast of the northern Bay of Bengal indicates a fault model
for the AD1762 Arakan Subduction Zone earthquake with a length of 700 km, a width of 125 km and slip of 10 m. The star indicates the epicentre of the AD1762 earthquake.
Source: Modified from Cummins (2007).
such an event is significant for two reasons. First, so called ‘mega-
tsunami’ sources in this region lie far to the north of those previously
recognised and, as such, demand independent rigorous testing and
validation. Second, if repeated, such an event would threaten the
lives of tens of millions of people living in adjacent low-lying coastal
areas (Gupta and Gahalaut, 2009).
Here we collate, document and analyse historical and geological
accounts of tsunamis and palaeotsunamis in order to establish a de-
tailed database of independently validated events in the northeast In-
dian Ocean (Latitude 15° S to 29° N and Longitude 70°E to 106° E)
with a particular reference to those reported as affecting the Bay of
Bengal. For each reported event in this new database, a validity
score (i.e., definite tsunami = 5, probable tsunami = 4, etc.) is provid-
ed, based upon the nature of the evidence given in the original source
documents. A number of issues and difficulties were encountered in
working with the compilation of tsunami data from historical source
documents. These are identified and discussed. In light of our analysis,
a series of research questions arises and future priorities are outlined.
We begin by providing a review of previously published cata-
logues and records of tsunamis in the Bay of Bengal and adjoining re-
gions. This is followed by a description of how we constructed our
database and a presentation of the results.
2. Previous tsunami catalogues and studies in the Indian Ocean
and Bay of Bengal region
Regional tsunami catalogues have been produced for many areas
of the world (e.g., Europe (Soloviev et al., 2000); the Caribbean
(O'Loughlin and Lander, 2003); Australia (Dominey-Howes, 2007);
New Zealand (Goff et al., 2010); the Indian Ocean (Murty and Rafiq,
1991; Murty and Bapat, 1999) and the South China Sea (Lau et al.,
177
2010)). For the Indian Ocean, tsunami catalogues (and lists) may be
subdivided into two groups: those published before and those pub-
lished after the 2004 IOT (see Sections 2.1 and 2.2 respectively).
Most of those published before the 2004 IOT were based on archival
records and focused primarily on earthquakes but made reference
to coincidental ‘tsunamis’, ‘sea waves’, ‘seismic sea waves’ and ‘tidal
surges’ occurring in association with an earthquake. Those published
after the 2004 IOT have attempted to be more comprehensive.
2.1. Catalogues and lists of Indian Ocean tsunamis published before the
2004 IOT
A detailed review of the available published material shows that
12 catalogues and lists of Indian Ocean tsunamis were published
prior to 2004 (Table 1). In most cases, these pre-2004 IOT studies
failed to provide detailed information on the parameters of the tsuna-
mi they referred to, broadly offered only a comment about the date of
occurrence and listed a single source record for each event. In most
cases, these catalogues cited references published in earlier cata-
logues/lists as their sources of evidence. As such, a circular system
of scaffolded referencing evolved between successive publications—
this system needs careful cross checking.
The oldest catalogue of regional tsunamis is by Oldham (1882),
whilst Hamzah et al. (2000) contain the greatest number of events.
Different catalogues cover different time periods, have different re-
gional focuses and provide variable levels of detail for each event.
This variation makes it difficult to undertake direct comparisons. In-
terestingly, as far as we can determine, prior to the 2004 IOT event,
no published papers existed that described palaeotsunami deposits
in the Indian Ocean.
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178 E. Alam et al. / Earth-Science Reviews 114 (2012) 175–193

Table 1
Summary of catalogues and lists of tsunamis affecting the Indian Ocean (and Bay of Bengal) published before, and after, the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami (2004 IOT).

Previous catalogue/list # of events Oldest event Most recent Comments

(arranged in date order) reported reported event listed

Catalogues published before the 2004 IOT

Oldham (1882) 13 AD893 AD1869 Mostly describes earthquakes
Milne (1911) 5 AD7 AD1899 Mainly an earthquake database
Heck (1947) 30 AD 416 AD1908 Catalogue of seismic sea waves
Berninghausen (1966) 27 AD1750 AD1945 Indian Ocean tsunami catalogue
Berninghausen (1969) 45 AD416 AD1965 Indian Ocean tsunami catalogue (includes partly China and the Philippines)
Soloviev and Go (1974) 13 AD416 AD1930 Tsunamis on the western shores of the Pacific Ocean
Nutalaya et al. (1985) 6 AD1762 AD1930 Mainly an earthquake database
Soetardjo et al. (1985) 6 AD1833 AD1967 Mainly an earthquake database
Newcomb and McCann (1987) 14 AD1681 AD1921 Mainly describes seismic history and tsunamis from the Sunda Arc
Murty and Rafiq (1991) 23 AD1737 AD1974 List of tsunamis in the Bay of Bengal
Murty and Bapat (1999) 6 326BC AD1945 Recorded some tsunamis on the coastlines of India
Hamzah et al. (2000) 105 AD1600 AD1999 Documented tsunamis in the whole Indonesian Archipelago

Catalogues published after the 2004 IOT

Kumar and Achyuthan (2006) 81 2000BC
Manimaran and Chacko (2006) 51 1500BC
Rastogi and Jaiswal (2006) 90 326BC
Rastogi (2007) 90 326BC
Dominey-Howes et al. (2007) 22 326BC
Dahanayake and Kulasena (2008) 3 3000BC–2000BC
Jordan (2008) 13 326BC
Jaiswal et al. (2008) 27 326BC
Jankaew et al. (2008) 3 800BC
Monecke et al. (2008) 3 AD780–AD990
Mörner et al. (2008) 5 AD200–AD400
Fujino et al. (2009) 3 Before AD1300
Yawsangratt et al. (2009) 2 n. d. (Holocene
period)
Kunz et al. (2010) 4 2000BC
Rajendran et al. (2010) 4 AD9–AD11
Yawsangratt et al. (2011) 2 38,000BC
AD2004 A record of palaeotsunamis in the Indian Ocean
AD2005 Historical tsunamis in the Indian Ocean
AD2005 A catalogue of tsunamis in the Indian Ocean
AD2005 Account of earthquakes and tsunamis in the Indian Ocean
AD1945 Records of teletsunamis in the Indian Ocean
Geological evidence indicates two tsunamis occurred between 3000 to 2000BC
AD2004 Tsunami records in the Indian, Arabian, Persian and Gulf Seas
AD2007 Illustrates tsunamigenic sources in the Indian Ocean
AD1400–AD1550 Palaeotsunami records based on sedimentary evidence
AD1907 A 1000-year sediment record of tsunamis in Northern Sumatra
AD2004 Submarine sand storms driven by tsunami waves brought littoral deposits
AD2004 Carbon dating indicate infer tsunami occurred before AD1300
AD2004 Hypothetical palaeotsunami near Thap Lamu Navy Base in Phang Nga Province,
Thailand
AD2004 Mainly Holocene coastal event record inferred from sediment analysis
AD2004 The tsunami geology of the Bay of Bengal
AD2004 Sediment layer (palaeotsunami) below the 2004 IOT event dated to about 40,000 BP
(dates believed reworked and event likely occurred in the Holocene)

2.2. Catalogues and lists of Indian Ocean tsunamis published after the
2004 IOT
The 2004 IOT created interest in the record of tsunamis of the In-
dian Ocean. Consequently, many more catalogues have been pro-
duced since 2004 (Table 1). For the first time, these publications
have begun to include inferred palaeotsunamis that can be added to
the longer-term record of historical events.
Once again, the authors of these publications focus on slightly dif-
ferent time periods, geographic locations, events (e.g., all tsunamis
versus teletsunamis only) and provide varying degrees of detail, his-
torical source material and types of geological evidence. From this
work, it has been suggested that six regions of subduction and com-
pression (the Sunda Subduction Zone, the Andaman Trench, the
Makran Subduction Zone, the Indus Delta, the Kutch-Saurashtra and
the Arakan Subduction Zone (see Fig. 1 for exact locations)) are all
tsunamigenic (Kumar and Achyuthan, 2006; Rastogi and Jaiswal,
2006; Rastogi, 2007; Jaiswal et al., 2008).
The Sunda Subduction Zone (SSZ) (Fig. 1) extends for over
5600 km in a north–south direction along the east side of the Indian
Ocean and prior to the 2004 IOT, had an earthquake history of events
with magnitudes of less than Mw 9 (Newcomb and McCann, 1987).
Although no historical events with magnitudes of 9 or larger had oc-
curred in previous centuries, large and very large events had (e.g., Mw
7.5–7.9 in AD1847 (Hamzah et al., 2000); Mw 7.9 in AD1881 (Ortiz
and Bilham, 2003) and Mw 7.7 in AD1941 (Rastogi, 2007)). Other re-
searchers have described various other significant events in the SSZ
prior to the 2004 IOT (e.g., Newcomb and McCann, 1987; Bilham et
al., 2005; Natawidjaja et al., 2006). The proposed length of earth-
quake ruptures of these various pre-2004 IOT events was much small-
er than that generated the 2004 IOT and as such would be expected to
influence the magnitude of any associated tsunamis (Bilham et al.,
2005; Subarya et al., 2006). The locations of some of these earth-
quakes are indicated by the red stars in Fig. 1.
The Andaman Trench (AT in Fig. 1) that encompasses the
Andaman and Nicobar Arc is located to the north of the SSZ and sep-
arates the Indian and Sunda plates (Ortiz and Bilham, 2003). It is seis-
mically very active. Earthquakes in AD1847, AD1881 and AD1941
generated tsunamis. The locations of these events are indicated by
the red stars in Fig. 1. North of the AT is the Arakan Subduction
Zone (ASZ). At least one ASZ earthquake in AD1762 triggered
liquefaction-induced surface cracking, compaction, subsidence and
tsunamis resulting in human deaths and damage to houses along
the coasts of Bangladesh and Myanmar (Oldham, 1882; Cummins,
2007).
To the west, the Makran Subduction Zone (MSZ) extends in an
east–west direction along the Pakistan and Iranian coasts (Fig. 1). Al-
though Jaiswal et al. (2008) do not believe that the MSZ is seismically
active, at least four earthquakes occurring in AD1483, AD1765,
AD1851 and AD1864 are known from the existing records before
AD1900 (Byrne et al., 1992). These earthquakes resulted in varying
degrees of impact. The last known tsunamigenic earthquake occurred
on 28 November AD1945 (Mw 8) killing over 4000 people. Still within
the western Indian Ocean, the Indus Delta and the adjacent coast of
the Kutch and Saurashtra (Fig. 1) may also have a similar seismic en-
vironment capable of generating tsunamis (Jaiswal et al., 2008). For
example, in AD1668 an earthquake (Fig. 1) is said to have caused
the sinking of 30,000 houses into the ground of the Indus Delta
(Oldham, 1882).
As already mentioned, after the 2004 IOT, significant efforts have
been made to understand the longer-term record of tsunamis in the
region by undertaking palaeotsunami investigations. Such studies
have pushed back the oldest known event far beyond the earliest his-
torical event (at 3000BC) to about 40,000BP or 38,000BC (although
 Author's personal copy
E. Alam et al. / Earth-Science Reviews 114 (2012) 175–193
the dating for this event is poor and it most likely occurred in the Ho-
locene). The published palaeotsunami studies are also included in
Table 1 (e.g., Dahanayake and Kulasena, 2008; Jankaew et al., 2008;
Monecke et al., 2008; Mörner et al., 2008; Fujino et al., 2009;
Yawsangratt et al., 2009, 2011; Kunz et al., 2010; Rajendran et al.,
2010).
3. Methods and approach—development of the new database
In order to develop a comprehensive tsunami catalogue (Table 2),
we used online global tsunami databases (e.g., the National Geophys-
ical Data Center (NGDC) and Novosibirsk Tsunami Laboratory (NTL)),
published tsunami records (Table 1), journal articles in the peer
reviewed literature, books, newspaper reports, and historical archives
from the India Records Office of the British Library and Royal Society
in London. The NGDC collects data about tsunamigenic earthquakes
from available written records, which include but are not limited to
peer reviewed papers, reports, newspaper articles, local historical
books and media reports. Whilst we were collecting and collating
data from the NGDC and NTL databases, we noted that their contents
were continuously being updated. For example, they might complete-
ly delete an incorrect entry, add a new entry where new data emerges
and enrich existing events with new information where such infor-
mation becomes available.
Our work paid particular attention to identifying events that af-
fected the Bay of Bengal region. However, in order to ensure a com-
prehensive coverage for the region and its potential tsunamigenic
sources (see Fig. 1), we selected a study area between Latitude 15°
S to 29° N and Longitude 70° E to 106° E that includes Bangladesh,
India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, part
of Pakistan, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.
We built our initial database by incorporating all tsunamis occur-
ring between Latitude 15°S to 29°N and Longitude 70°E to 106°E
recorded in the NGDC catalogue (http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/). We
then repeatedly interrogated the NGDC database by searching for
events in specific countries (e.g., India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, etc.).
We then repeated this process using the NTL database (http://tsun.
sscc.ru/nh/tsunami.php). The results of these analyses formed the
basis for developing a more detailed historical tsunami database.
Our new database (Table 2) includes details for a number of pa-
rameters for each event and builds upon the event details listed by
the NOAA NGDC “Tsunami Event Database” (see: http://www.ngdc.
noaa.gov/hazard/tsu.shtml). These are: event number (in our data-
base); the event date; the tsunami source region (including latitude
and longitude where known); a code for the source type; a list of
countries and places affected (with latitude and longitude where
known); the magnitude of the earthquake that triggered the tsunami
(when the trigger was an earthquake); maximum water height in
metres (where known e.g., listed in the NGDC database); the number
of run-up measurements (where known); the number of deaths and/
or injuries (where known); a validity score for the reported tsunami;
key comments where appropriate and information on our primary
and secondary sources for the event (Table 2). Each row in the data-
base relates to a unique event. This is a similar format to that adopted
by NOAA NGDC (see: http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/hazard/tsu.shtml).
For each event listed in our database, we assign a ‘code’ for two
specific parameters. These are (1) the “tsunami cause code” (from 1
to 5) and, (2) the “validity code” (from 1 to 5) (see Table 3 for de-
scription). Not all of the events reported in the previously published
tsunami catalogues are actual tsunamis. For example, a tsunami is
purported to have occurred in China on 14 August AD1918 (Gongxu
et al., 1989). The reported location of the earthquake epicentre (Lat.
26.9°/Long. 103°) is deep within the Chinese mainland and cannot
have triggered a tsunami within the Indian Ocean. After careful anal-
ysis of the event documentation we have now amended our database
to record this as a seiche. Thus, validating each individual event
179
allows us to determine whether or not a tsunami was likely to have
occurred. The ‘validity code’ score given to any one event is based
upon a combination of the:
(1) reported tsunamigenic source, its magnitude and location;
(2) clarity of event descriptions given by the original reporting au-
thors/sources;
(3) previous codes given by the NGDC and NTL databases (if
available);
(4) accuracy in referencing and interpretation of cited materials;
and
(5) our professional judgement.
A definite tsunami is one that meets all five validity assessment
criteria (Validity Code 5).
Probable tsunamis are those for which the majority of the event
descriptions are reliable but for which there is some inconsistency
in the remaining documentation (Validity Code 4). Evidence for pal-
aeotsunamis reported by a single study is listed as Probable tsunami.
Doubtful tsunamis are those for which there is either some consid-
erable inconsistency between the cited documents, or events that are
currently only referred to in a single document (Validity Code 3). Dur-
ing a thorough evaluation of the available data, some previously pur-
ported tsunamis have been redefined as seiches in or disturbances of
an inland water body (Validity Code 2). Last, erroneous entries are
those that either do not meet our validity assessment criteria or
have been associated with a different process by a reliable source (Va-
lidity Code 1).
In addition to the validation of previously reported tsunamis, we
undertook a cross check of references and performed a contents anal-
ysis to verify the date of occurrence of an event, to explore inconsis-
tencies in citations, to identify problems relating to magnitudes of
earthquakes and to identify exaggeration of deaths reported in the
existing sources.
In this study, a source material item we have consulted is consid-
ered to be a secondary source. For example, for the AD416 event, we
consulted several sources (e.g., Judd, 1889; Heck, 1947; Iida et al.,
1967; Berninghausen, 1969; Soloviev and Go, 1974; Simkin and
Fiske, 1983; Rastogi and Jaiswal, 2006; Jaiswal et al., 2008; NGDC,
2011), which are considered as secondary sources. Heck (1947) and
Soloviev and Go (1974) referred to Wichmann (1918b) from where
they obtained information for this particular event. At this stage, we
are not able to consult Wichmann (1918b) and consider this refer-
ence as a primary source for that event. Hence, primary sources are
those that we have not yet consulted for a particular event and sec-
ondary sources are those that we have.
Last, we undertook Poisson probability analysis using SPSS 12.0
(George and Mallery, 2005) in order to determine the recurrence in-
terval of tsunamis at regional and sub-regional levels. Poisson is a dis-
crete frequency distribution that provides the chance of independent
events occurring in a given interval of time. The Poisson distribution
was applied to understand the chance of occurrences annually and
over a century.
4. Results
A total of 135 purported tsunamis are reported from the sources
we examined (Table 2). These originated within, or affected the Bay
of Bengal region between 38,000BC(?) and AD2010. Ten pal-
aeotsunamis (event #s 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 9, 12, 14, 15, 16) and 125 historical
tsunamis are recorded.
The oldest tsunami – also the first palaeotsunami – possibly dates as
far back as 38,000BC (although it is probably Holocene in age) and af-
fected the western coast of Thailand (Yawsangratt et al., 2011). The
oldest historical tsunami reported within the historical records (also
the second oldest event listed) dates to between 3000 and 2000BC
and is reported to have impacted the Sri Lankan coast (Dahanayake
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180
Table 2
A database of reported historical and palaeotsunamis in the Indian Ocean (Latitude 15° S to 29° N and Longitude 70° E to 106° E) with a particular focus on the Bay of Bengal.

Event Date of Reported source location Cause Tsunami affected area Magnitude Max water Num of Deaths/ Validity Key comments Primary Secondary
no event Code of earthquake height (m) Run-up Injuries code source (see source (see
Name of Latitude/ Country Locations
or max run-up references references
Location Longitude affected
height (m) below table) below table)

1 38,000BC * * 2 Thailand Southern Kho * * * * 4 A portion of sediment layer – 109

Khao Island (palaeotsunami) below the 2004 IOT
event dated to about 40,000BP
2 3000BC– * * 2 Sri Lanka Southern * * * * 4 Historical texts and geological – 103
2000BC Coastlines evidence indicate at least two tsunamis
occurred between 3000BC and 2000BC
3 1500BC * * 1 India Gujarat Coast * * * * 3 The drowning of the city Dwarka can be – 107
attributable at that time
4 800BC * * 2 Thailand Phuket * * * * 4 Mediaeval forewarning of the 2004 – 104
Indian Ocean tsunami in Thailand
5 325BC (21) The Makran 25.30/63.33 2 India Kutch Region * * * * 3 Alexander the Great's Macedonian – 15, 21, 44,
326BC (45) Coast Pakistan Indus Delta fleet destroyed 45, 63, 76,
Sri Lanka Kalyani Kanika 77, 78, 98
6 50BC–AD100 * * 1 India Kapaadarapuram * * * * 3 The ferocious sea has engulfed the river – 107
7 AD10 * * 2 India Red Skin Island * * * * 4 1000 year old palaeotsunami sediments – 112

E. Alam et al. / Earth-Science Reviews 114 (2012) 175–193

8 AD9–AD11 * * 1 India Kaveripattinam * * * * 4 A sea flood that crippled the historic port – 105
at Kaveripattinam
9 AD200–AD400 * * 2 Sri Lanka Southern * * * * 4 Stones were tilted in different directions – 108
Sri Lanka in a manner suggesting severe
ground shaking
(75) (1)
10 AD416 South Java −6.102/ 4 Indonesia South Java * * 2 * 4 A Japanese book called 'Book of Kings' 55 1, 25, 26,
105.42 states “The water of the sea rose and 35, 61, 62,
inundated the land…and swept away 63, 75, 98
with all their property”
11 AD500 Krakatoa (98) −6.07/105.27 4 India Tamilnadu * * * * 3 The ancient town Kaveripattinam was – 63, 98, 107
washed away and the time of event
matches with the Krakatau explosion
12 AD780–AD990 * * 2 Indonesia Sumatra * * * * 4 A 1000‐year sediment record of tsunami – 106
occurrence in northern Sumatra
13 AD900 Sunda- 10.46/79.54 2 India Nagapattinum * * * Hundreds (63) 3 Waves washed away the monastery – 63, 98
(63)
Andaman and Tamilnadu and several temples
Arc (63)
14 AD1290–1400 * * 2 Indonesia Sumatra * * * 4 A 1000‐year sediment record of tsunami – 106
occurrence in northern Sumatra
15 Before AD1300 * * 2 Thailand Phra Thong * * * * 4 Radiocarbon dating infers tsunami – 110
Isand occurred before AD1300
16 AD1300–1450 * * 2 Thailand Phuket * * * * 4 The most recent similar-sized – 104
predecessor of the 2004 tsunami
occurred about 550–700 years ago
17 AD1524 Arabian sea/ 20.4/72.9 (1) 1 India Dabul (Dhabi) (1) * * * * 3 Death/effects reported by Vasco Da 33, 46 1, 14, 15, 18,
Bay of Cambay/ Gulf of Cambay (44) Gama's fleet in Daub (46) 44, 63, 64,
Makran Coast (64) 76, 98, 107
18 11 Dec AD1681 Earthquake in − 0.35/101.2 2 Indonesia Sumatra * * * * 3 A sea quake was observed – 51, 63, 67
(51)
Sumatra (51)
19 4 Aug Ava (Innwa) (1) 19.24/94.33 2 Myanmar (1) Ava (Innwa) * * * * 3 Pagodas, etc. fell. The water from – 1, 3
AD1714 the river rushed into the city
20 11 Oct AD1737 Bay of Bengal 13.31/87.32 5 India Kolkata * * 1 (1) 3000(44) 1 The AD1737 Calcutta earthquake 17, 70 1, 16, 10,
(Calcutta) 300,000 (1,10) in the lists of catastrophic earthquakes 44, 47
appears to be unjustified.
21 AD1750 Myanmar 18.5/93.4 2 Myanmar (1) Cheduba * * * * 3 Several small non-damaging waves 93 1, 9
Coast Island (9)
(1)
22 2 Apr AD1762 Northern Bay 22/92 2 India, Kolkata M w 8.8 (4) 1.83 (1)
1 (1)
200 (1) Many 5 At Dhaka hundreds of large country boats 8, 11, 65 1, 4, 9, 10, 44,
of Bengal Bangladesh Chittagong death (44) were driven ashore, or lost, and great 47, 48, 49, 63,
Myanmar Cheduba (1, 10, 44) numbers of lives lost in them. 67, 70, 71, 80,
81,82, 83, 98
23 −5/102 (1) 2 Indonesia SW Sumatra (1, 51) Ms 7.0 (68) * 1 (1)
* 4 50
 Author's personal copy

30 Nov AD1770 Earthquake in Volcanic eruption occurred 1, 25, 44, 51,

(68)
Sumatra (51, 68) simultaneously with this event (51) 63, 68, 84
24 10 (1,9, 68) Earthquake in − 1/100 2 Indonesia SW Sumatra (1) 8.5–8.7 (44) * 2 (1)
300 (1)
5 The settlement of Ajermanis on the coast 50 1,9, 25, 26,
10–11 (51) Sumatra (51, 68) and the Batu Ms 8 (68) was flooded and huts were washed away 44, 51, 57,
Feb AD1797 Island (51) 63, 68, 84, 87
25 AD1799 South East −3.19/104.75 2 Indonesia South East * 15 (1, 35)
* * 3 Wave about 50 ft above ordinary 55 9, 25, 26,
Sumatra Sumatra water level 35, 63, 87
26 AD1809 Gurhwal 2 India Bishnoo Gunga * * * * 2 Water rose 40 ft above its usual level, and 89 48
River landslide blocked the river
27 29 (1, 68) Apr Malacca 5.38/100.25 2 Malaysia Penang Island * * 1 (1)
* 3 There was a very strong shock in the – 1, 25, 63, 68
AD1816 Peninsula (1) (1)
96.5 (68) northern and central parts of the island
28 18 Mar AD1818 Bengkulu (25) − 3.76/ 3 Indonesia SW Sumatra (68) Ms 7 (1, 68)
* 1 (1)
* 4 Sea withdrew and returned with – 1,9, 25, 26,
102.26 great force and overflowed land 51, 63, 84, 87
29 Mid May * * 2 Indonesia * * * * * 2 A significant aftershock and associated – 51
AD1819 seaquake were reported
30 16 Jun AD1819 Kutch (1) 23/71 2 India Tsunami in M w 7.7 (1) * 1 (1)
1543 (1, 10)
4 A tremendous rush from the ocean, and all 66 1, 9, 10, 15,
Arabian Sea (10), submerged, ground sinking apparently 18, 48, 63, 98
Sind and about 14 ft (48)
adjoining
area (48)
31 9 Feb AD1823 Sri Lanka 7.5/80.46 2 Sri Lanka * 5.7 (88) * * * 2 Felt severely in sea by ships 90 48
32 6 Jan AD1827 From sea (48) 17.42/83.15 2 India Vishakhapatnam * * * * 2 Sharp shocks apparently from sea 91 48

E. Alam et al. / Earth-Science Reviews 114 (2012) 175–193

33 29 Jan AD1833 Bengkulu, − 3.5/102.15 2 Indonesia Padang and * * * * 3 Sea wave tore ships from their – 9, 26, 87
Sumatra Priana anchors in Priana (26)
(1) (1)
34 6 Sep AD1833 Yunnan 25.2/103 2 China Yunnan Province Ms 8 * 1 * 2 A landslide occurred in Mountain – 1, 27
Province Xishan, the Dianchi Lake surged
35 24 Nov AD1833 Bengkulu (68) − 3.5/102.2 2 Indonesia Padang, Pariaman Ms 8.3 (1) * 3 (1)
* 5 A tsunami over 550 km along the 28, 29, 1, 25, 44, 51,
and Bengkulu 8.7 (44, 51) south central coast of Sumatra 50, 54 52, 53, 63,
M w 8.7 (67) 68, 84, 87
36 31 Aug AD1837 Banda 5.5/96 2 Indonesia Ms 7.2 (68) * * * 3 – – 68
Aceh (68)
(1) (1)
37 29 Sep AD1837 Banda Aceh 5.5/96 2 Malaysia Penang Island Ms 7.3 * 2 * 4 Volcano eruption occurred aftertwo – 1, 25, 63, 84
Singapore Teluk Ayer weeks of earthquake
38 23 Mar AD1839 Amarapoora * 2 Myanmar Ava and * * * * 2 Large quantities of water (and sand) of a – 48
Amarapoora brackish appearance had been ejected
39 16 Dec AD1841 Banda sea − 3.24/ 2 Indonesia Moluccas, * Runup1.2–1.5 (35) * * 3 Moderate sea wave 1.2 to 1.5 m high 50, 55 26, 35, 61,
near Moluccas (35) 103.31 Amboina,
Buru (35)
(1) (1)
40 11 Nov AD1842 Earthquake in 21/89 2 India Kolkata Ms 6.0 * 3 * 3 Tsunami wave at the various tributaries 8, 11, 94 1, 9,10, 44,
northern of the Bangladesh Dhaka of the Ganges River, Dhaka, Calcutta and 47, 48, 57,
Bay of Bengal Myanmar Cheduba Island Cheduba Island (10) 63, 82, 98
41 5 (25, 68) Nias Island (25) 1.5/98 2 Indonesia Barus Island, Ms 7.3 (1)
* 3 (1)
* 5 A tremendous tsunami wiped out towns 55, 70 1,9, 25, 26,
5–6 (9, 26, 51, 87) SW Sumatra (68) Kampong De on the east coast of Nias and reached 44, 48, 51, 63,
Jan AD1843 Mero and Pulau the main land 67, 68, 84, 87
Nias Island 87
6 (67) Jan SW Sumatra * – Indonesia Sumatra * * * * * – 55, 70 26, 67
AD1843
(48)
42 30 Oct AD1843 Sandoway * 2 India Ramree and * * * * 2 Very sharp earthquake felt at Gukiong, 92 48
Cheduba on sea, 90 miles to south
43 19 Jun AD1845 Rann of Kutch 23.58/70 2 India Rann of Kutch * * 3 (1) * 4 The sea rolled up the Koree – 1, 9, 10,
63, 98
44 6 Aug AD1845 Gowhatty and * 2 India Midnapore * * * * 2 The earthquake was followed by – 48
Serampore inundation of the Cossye
Sylhet Bangladesh
45 31 Oct AD1847 Little Nicobar 7.33/93.66 2 India Kondul Island M w 7.5–7.9 (67) * 1 (1)
* 4 The small island of Kondul was inundated 8, 11, 59 1,9, 10, 26,
Island 44, 63, 98
(48)
46 14 Feb AD1851 Narnee Jal * 2 India Narnee Jal * * * * 2 Shock accompanied by immense Perry 48
inundations
(1) (1)
47 4 May AD1851 Lampung Bay − 5/105 1 Indonesia Telukbetung and * 1.5 1 * 4 A tidal wave rose 1.5 m above the flood – 1, 25
Lampung Bay tide level (25)
48 11 Nov AD1852 Java (68) 1.7/98.8 2 Indonesia Nias Island Ms 6.8 (1, 68)
* 1 (1)
* 3 The waters of all this area were – 1, 25, 63,
Sibolga (1) disturbed (25) 68, 84

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181
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182
Table 2 (continued)
Event Date of Reported source location Cause Tsunami affected area Magnitude Max water Num of Deaths/ Validity Key comments Primary Secondary
no event Code of earthquake height (m) Run-up Injuries code source (see source (see
Name of Latitude/ Country Locations
or max run-up references references
Location Longitude affected
height (m) below table) below table)

49 24 Aug AD1858 Hills between the 21.54/95.57 2 Myanmar False Island * * * * 2 Entire disappearance of False Island – 48
Irawadi and the Bangladesh
Bay of Bengal (48) India
50 16 Feb AD1861 South West −1/97.9 2 Indonesia Banda Aceh, Ms 8.5 (1, 51, 68) 7 (1, 51)
9 (1)
1001 (1) 50 (87) 5 Waves noted by several vessels at sea 29, 55 1, 9, 25, 26,
Sumatra Batu Island 44, 51, 63, 68,
71, 84, 87
16 Feb AD1861 Western Malaysia 5.15/100.29 * Malaysia Penang * * * * * There was an unusual commotion in the – 48
sea. Sky clear and no wind.
16 Feb 1 AD861 Kolkata 22.3/88.2 – India Kolkata * * * * * Water in tanks rose 1 ft above its level – 48
51 9 Mar AD1861 Banda sea (68) 0/98 (1, 68) 2 Indonesia Babanireg and Ms 7 (1, 68)
* 4 (1)
750 (1)
5 High wave swept inland with loss of life 55 1, 25, 26, 51,
Simuk Island 63, 68, 84,
(1) (1)
52 26 Apr AD1861 Earthquake 1/97.5 2 Indonesia SW Sumatra Ms 7 * 1 * 5 Felt on the mainland with an associated – 1, 25, 51,
in Sumatra (51, 68)
tsunami in the north 63, 68, 84
53 17 Jun AD1861 SW Sumatra 1/97.5 2 Indonesia SW Sumatra Ms 6.8 (1) * – * 4 A little after this earthquake, the water – 1, 25, 63, 84
rose and fell three times
54 25 Sep AD1861 Earthquake in SW −1.5/100 2 Indonesia Sumatra: Padang, Ms 6.5 (1, 68)
* 1 (1)
* 4 High wave swept coast. Several boast and 55 1, 9, 25, 26,

E. Alam et al. / Earth-Science Reviews 114 (2012) 175–193

Sumatra (51, 68) Indapura (87) huts were washed away (25) 51, 63, 68,
71, 84, 87
55 16 Feb AD1864 West Sumatra −0.57/ 2 Indonesia Penjaboengan * * * * 3 Penjaboengan inundated by sea wave – 1, 9, 26,
100.21 71, 87
56 19 Aug AD1868 Earthquake in 11.67/92.73 1 India Port Blair * 4 (10) 1 (1)
* 5 Tsunami at Port Blair – 1, 10, 44, 98
Andaman Islands
57 AD1874 Bhola 22/89 (63) 2 Bangladesh Sundarbans * * * * 2 – Mihir 63, 98
earthquake (63) Guha (63)
(20)
58 9 Jan AD1876 Andaman 9.58/95.29 5 India Bay of Bengal * * * 215,000 1 The Bakerganj tropical cyclone of 1876 – 13, 19, 20
Islands (20) with a central pressure of 930 mb
59 31 Dec AD1881 Centre of the 8.5/92.4 2 Indian Car Nicobar 7.1 (44) M 1.22 (1) 11 (1)
* 5 Tsunami wave from Sri Lanka to Ganges 8, 11, 72 1, 9, 10, 12,
Bay of Bengal (9) Island, w 7.9
(1)
Delta in Bengal 26, 44, 56,
Sri Lanka Chennai 64, 98
Visakhapatnam
Trincomalee
60 1 (1, 44) Jan Feb Trincomalee 8.57/81.23 2 Sri Lanka Trincomalee (10) * * 1 (1)
4 Tsunami at Trincomalee, Sri Lanka (10) 8, 11 1, 9, 10, 26,
(9)
AD1882 44, 71, 98
26 Aug AD1883 Java (68) −6.10 (68) 4 Indonesia Java * 35 (87) * 36, 000 (87) * On Sumatra shore height rose 80 ft 95 9,26, 35, 61,
105.4 (68) 63, 68, 87
61 27 Aug AD Krakatoa −6.10/ – Australia Cocos Island * 35 (1) 15 (21) 83 (1)
36, 000 (1) 5 Krakatau eruption generated waves with 95 1,9, 10, 35,
(44, 68)
1883 explosion 105.42 (1) Indonesia Java local heights up to 100 ft 44, 63, 62,
Sri Lanka, Mumbai 68, 73, 79, 98
India Trincomalee
62 Feb AD1884 Krakatoa −6.1/105.42 2 Indonesia Krakatau * * * * 3 Earthquake in the western part of the – 1, 25, 45, 63
Bay of Bengal (45)
63 31 Dec AD1884 Sunda Strait −6.10 (68)/ 4 Indonesia * * * * * 3 – – 68
105.4 (68)
64 29 Jul AD1885 SW Sumatra 0.2/99.38 2 Indonesia Ajerbangis, Ms 6.8 (1, 68)
* * * 3 Waves began to break on shore with – 1, 25, 63,
Sumatra great force 68, 84
65 14 Dec AD1885 Banda 5.5/96 2 Indonesia Banda Aceh * * * * 3 The water level in the river was high – 1, 25, 63
Aceh (68)
66 AD1886 Unknown (44) 2 Indian Ocean Bay of Bengal * * * * 3 – – 1, 10, 44
67 31 Jan AD1886 Cota-Raja, 5.5/96 2 Indonesia Cota-Raja, * * * * 3 – – 68
Aceh (68) Aceh, Indonesia
68 19 May Sigli, Aceh (68) 5.5/96 2 Indonesia Aceh * * * * 1 – – 68
AD1886
69 21 Mar AD1888 Breueh Islands 5.7/95.08 2 Indonesia * * * * * 1 – – 68
(1)
70 16 Aug AD1889 Java earthquake −6/106 2 Indonesia Java Ms 6 * * * 3 – – 1, 67, 68
(1)
71 17 May Northeast 2.5/98.5 2 Indonesia, Sumatra * * 6 * 4 A strong surf was observed in the 30 1, 25, 63,
AD1892 Sumatra Singapore rivers on the eastern coast of 68, 84, 87
Sumatra Island (25)
72 10 Oct AD1896 SW Sumatra (68) −3.5/102.5 2 Indonesia Gunungsitoli Ms 6.8 (1, 68)
* 1 (1)
* 3 –
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The sea was more restless than during the 1, 25, 63,
preceding 6 h 68, 84
73 June AD1897 * * 2 India Kolkata and * * * * 3 A great tidal wave swept up the – 113, 114
Assam Brahmapootra River over 250 miles from sea
74 27 Jul AD1902 * * 2 Indonesia Bengkulu * * * * 3 – – 87
75 4 Jul AD1904 Off the 0.35/101.2 1 Indonesia Sumatra * * * * 3 Submarine shock sunk a sailing boat 32 9, 63, 87
Siri-siri (9)
76 7 Sep AD1904 S Java * 2 Indonesia S Java * * * * 3 – – 1, 25
77 4 Apr AD1905 Earthquake * 2 India Kangra 8.6 (1, 10), * 1 (1)
20, 000 (10) 3 – – 1, 10, 22
near Kangra M w 7.8 22
78 4 Jan (1, 51, 68) SW Sumatra (68) 2/94.5 2 Indonesia Banda Aceh, Ms 7.6 (1, 44, 68) 2.10 1 10 (1)
400 (1, 5)
5 Tidal water flooded huts – 1, 9, 25, 26,
Feb (5) AD1907 Barus, Natal M w 7.4 (68) 44, 51, 63,
and Padang 68, 84, 87
4 Jan AD1907 * * Srilanka Extraordinary maritime disturbances – 116
79 6 Feb AD1908 SW Sumatra (68) −2/100 2 Indonesia Sikakap Ms 7.5 (1, 68)
1.4 (1) 1 (1)
* 5 Tsunami damage reported on the seaward 74 1,9, 25,
side of the islands 26, 51, 63,
68, 84, 87
80 3 Jun AD1909 Sumatra Fault (68) −2/101 2 Indonesia Kambang Ms 7.6 (1) 7.3 (87) * 4 (1)
* 3 Large movements of water were observed 31 1, 25, 63,
Muti, Pau M w 7.2 (68) at Kambang 68, 84, 87
81 25 Jun AD1914 Bencoolen in −4.5/102.5 2 Indonesia Sumatra Ms 7.6 (1) * * * 3 The earthquake led to an upheaval of 30 1, 63, 68
Sumatra (30) M w 7.5 (68) the sea and a ship
(1)
26 Jul AD1914 Lais, Sumatra - 3.5/102 – Indonesia Ende * * 1 * – – 25 1

E. Alam et al. / Earth-Science Reviews 114 (2012) 175–193

82 26 Jul AD1915 Earthquake in −3.5/102 2 Indonesia Lais, Sumatra * * * * 3 Oscillations of the sea (25) – 25, 68
Lais (68)
(1)
83 16 Mar AD1917 Java * 1 Indonesia Java * * 1 * 3 Great damage done by tidal wave at Pagatan – 1, 25
84 14 Aug AD1918 Yunnan 26.9/103 2 China Yunnan Ms 5.5 (1) * 1 (1)
* 2 Waves surged high in the river – 1, 27
Province (1) Province
85 1 Apr AD1921 North Sumatra, 2.06/99.32 2 Indonesia Tapanuli * * * * 3 – – 87
86 10 Apr AD1922 Padang, −0.98/ 1 Indonesia Padang * * * * 3 – – 68
Sumatra (68) 100.33
87 8 Jul AD1922 Calang, Aceh, 5.46/ 95.23 2 Indonesia Aceh * * * * 3 The shock was accompanied by a seaquake – 1, 25, 63, 68
88 28 Jun AD1926 SW Sumatra −1.5/99.5 2 Indonesia Lake Singkarak Ms 5.8 (1) * * 222 (87)/Many 2 – 32 1, 63, 84, 87
(87)

89 1 Jul AD1926 Java −3.26/ 2 Indonesia Java Ms 6.8 (68) * * * 1 – – 68

100.69
90 26 Mar AD1928 Krakatoa −6.1, 105.42 4 Indonesia Sunda St., * * * * 3 The sea level rose and fell nine times – 1,9, 25,
Lampung 63, 68, 87
(1) (1)
91 9 Nov AD1929 Tjalang, 4.63/95.56 1 Indonesia Tjalang, NW * * 1 6 2 It was ebb tide phase and no earthquake 57 1, 25
NW Sumatra was felt 25
Sumatra
92 17 Mar AD1930 Krakatau −6.1/105.42 4 Indonesia Krakatau * 500 (1) * * 3 The surface of the sea repeatedly – 1, 25,
swelled 25 63, 68
93 5 May AD1930 Myanmar 17.3/96.5 2 Myanmar Pegu Ms 7.2 (115) * 1 (1)
550 (1)
5 The ancient seaport of Pegu was almost – 1, 3, 5, 6, 7
Coast entirely destroyed
(68)
94 19 Jun AD1930 South Java −5.6/105.3 2 Indonesia South Java Ms 6 1.5 (1) * * 4 – – 1, 67, 68, 84
Sea
95 25 Sep AD1931 SW Sumatra −5/102.75 2 Indonesia Pulau Island Ms 7.4 (1) 1 (1)
1 (1)
* 4 The wave rose 1 m above the highest tide – 1, 25, 63,
M w 7.3 (68) mark 68, 84, 87
96 15 Jan AD1934 Earthquake in 26.5/86.5 2 India and Ganges River (10) M w 8.1 (1) * 1 (1)
10, 700 (10) 2 Tsunami in Ganges River – 1, 10
Bihar and Nepal
Nepal (10)
97 21 Sep AD1934 North Sumatra 1/99 2 Indonesia South Tapanuli 7.5 (87) * * * 3 – – 87
98 31 May Andaman- 16/91 2 India * M w 7.5 (98) * * 30, 000 (10) 3 – – 10, 63, 98
AD1935 Nicobar
Islands
99 25 Nov AD1935 Celebes Sea 5.5/94 2 Indonesia Celebes sea Ms 6.5 (1, 10)
* * * 3 – – 1, 10, 63, 98
100 18 Dec AD1935 Sichuan 28.7/103.6 2 China Wutongqiao Ms 6 (1) * 1 (1)
* 2 High waves surged – 1. 27
Province on the river
101 28 Dec AD1935 SW Sumatra 0.001/98.25 2 Indonesia SW Sumatra M w 7.8 (68) * * 3 – – 1, 25, 63,
(68)
68, 84, 87
102 23 Aug AD1936 East of Java (68) 6.1/94.7 2 Indonesia Off Northwest Ms 7.3 (1) * * 91 (87)
/20 (87)
3 – 29 1, 10, 63,
Coast (1) 63, 68, 87
(1) (10)
103 26 Jun AD1941 12.5/92.5 2 India * 2 5000 5 – 23, 59
183

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184
Table 2 (continued)
Event Date of Reported source location Cause Tsunami affected area Magnitude Max water Num of Deaths/ Validity Key comments Primary Secondary
no event Code of earthquake height (m) Run-up Injuries code source (see source (see
Name of Latitude/ Country Locations
or max run-up references references
Location Longitude affected
height (m) below table) below table)

Andaman Andaman sea 7.6 (1) 7.7 (44) 1, 10, 44,

Sea (1) and E. Coast 8.1 (10) 45, 58, 63,
of India (1, 10, 45) M w 7.7 (98) 98, 100
104 28 Nov AD1945 Makran 24.12/62.36 2 India Bombay 6.65 (9) * * 5 Bombay experienced a wave height 6.5 ft – 9, 96, 97

E. Alam et al. / Earth-Science Reviews 114 (2012) 175–193

Coast on 8.15 am.
105 2 Jun AD1948 Malaya 6/95 2 Indonesia Sabang Ms 6.2 (1) * 1 (1)
* 3 – – 1, 25, 63,
Penninsula, 68, 84
Sumatra (68)
106 9 May AD1949 Banda Aceh 5/95 2 Indonesia Banda Aceh Ms 6.7 (1, 10) * * * 3 – – 1, 10, 63
107 15 Aug AD1950 Assam, 28.6/96.5 2 India, Norway India, Norway M w 8.6 (1) 0.5 (1)
41 (1) 1530 (10)
2 Tsunami in Brahmaputra river 10 33 1, 10, 34
India (34) and the UK1 and the UK1 8.7 (10)
108 21 Dec AD1951 Gansu and 26.7/100 2 China Jianhu Lake Ms 6.3 (1) 2 (1)
1 (1)
* 2 The water of Jianhu Lake flowed backward – 1, 27
Shanxi for 1–1.5 km with waves 1–2 m high and
Provinces (1) overflowed the land
109 17 May Little Nicobar 6.5/94 2 India Little Nicobar Ms 7.3 (1) * * * 3 – – 1, 10
AD1955 Island (1) Island (1)
110 23 Sep AD1955 Yunnan Province 26.6/101.8 2 China Jinsha River, Ms 6.8 (1) 1 (1)
* * 2 Waves in the Jinsha River surged – 1, 27
Yunnan Province 1 m high
(1)
111 21 Apr AD1958 Bengkulu − 4.5/104 2 Indonesia Bengkulu and M w 6.5 (1, 68) * * * 3 – – 1, 25, 63, 68
Telukbetung
112 16 Dec AD1963 Java − 6.2/105.4 2 Indonesia Java M w 6.6 (1, 68) * * * 3 – – 1, 25, 63,
5 (87) 68, 87
113 2 Apr AD1964 Off Northwest 5.8/95.4 3 Indonesia Off Northwest Ms 7 (1, 87) 0.7 (1)
* 110 (87)
/479 4 – – 1, 25, 63, 87
(87)
Coast of Coast
Indonesia
(68)
2 Apr AD1964 Malaya 5.9/95.4 – Malaysia Malay Ms 7 * * * – – – 1, 63, 68
Peninsula (68)
114 12 Apr AD1967 Malaya 5.5/97.3 2 Indonesia Sigli Ms 6.5 (87) Big (87)
1 (1)
* 4 The quake was followed by an 29 1, 25, 35,
Peninsula (68) Ms 7.5 (68) enormous tsunami 63, 68,
84, 87
115 24 Feb AD1982 Java Trench (68) 4.37/97.75 2 Indonesia Java Trench Ms 5.4 (1) 0.1 (1)
* * 5 – – 1, 36, 37,
38, 63
116 30 Nov AD1983 Chagos − 6.85/72.11 2 UK Territory Diego Garcia Ms 7.7 (1) 1.5 (1)
2 (1)
* 5 – 2 1, 37, 63, 98
Archipelago Seychelles Mahe Island
(63)
117 AD1984 Selat Mentawai 0.18/97.95 2 Indonesia Off west coast 7.2 * * * 3 No information found on primary source 99 63
of Sumatra
118 6 Aug AD1988 Jamuna river, 25.149/ 2 Bangladesh Jamuna river, Ms 7.2 (1) * * 3 (1)
2 Two people killed and 30 missing due 2 1
Aricha 95.127 Aricha to a possible seiche on the Jamuna River
119 15 Feb AD1994 Southern − 4.96/104.3 2 Indonesia Southern M w 6.8 (68) * * 207 (40)
1 Indonesian Meteorological and Geophysical 39 1, 37, 40, 63
Sumatra Sumatra Agency states no tsunami was generated
120 4 Jun AD2000 Southern − 4.72/ 2 Indonesia Southern M w 7.9 (68) * * * 3 – – 68
Sumatra (68) 102.09 Sumatra
121 18 Jun AD2000 South Indian − 13.8/97.45 2 Australia Cocos Island M w 7.9 (1) 0.3 (1)
1 (1)
* 5 – 2 1, 37, 63, 68
Ocean (68)
122 13 Sep AD2002 Andaman sea 13.03/93.06 2 India Ariel Bay M w 6.5 (1, 68) * 3 (1)
2 (69)
5 – 2 1, 68, 69
Antarctica
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Ross Island and

Smith Island
(1) (1) (1) (1)
123 26 Dec AD2004 NW Sumatra 3.29/95.98 2 Indonesia, Sumatra and M w 9 50.9 997 227,898 5 – – 1, 60, 63
India and other other
14 countries
124 28 March Near Sumatra 2.08/97.1 2 Australia Cocos Island M w 8.7 (1, 44) 3 (1, 44)
16 (1) 10 (1) 5 – 2 1, 41, 44, 63
AD2005 Indonesia Simeulue,
Maldives Gun
Oman Salalah
125 10 Apr AD2005 Kepulauan − 1.64/99.6 2 Indonesia Padang M w 6.7 (1) 0.4 (1)
1 (1)
* 5 – 2 1, 41, 63
Mentawai
(68) (68)
126 24 Jul AD2005 Nicobar 7.9/92.1 2 India Nicobar Islands M w 7.2 * * * 4 – – 68
Islands (68)
127 12 Sep AD2007 Sumatra − 4.43/ 2 Australia Cocos Island M w 8.4 (1) 0.98 (1)
20 (1) * 5 – 24 1
101.36 Indonesia Padang
Oman Salalah
128 20 Feb AD2008 Semuele 2.78/95.97 2 Indonesia * M w 7.4 (68) * * * 5 – – 68
Island (68)
129 25 Feb AD2008 Sumatra − 2.48/99.97 2 Indonesia Padang M w 6.5 (1) 0.12 (1)
1 (1)
* 5 – 2 1
(1) (1)
130 10 Aug AD2009 Andaman 14.09/92.88 2 Thailand Off the Phuket M w 7.5 0.01 * * 5 – 24 1
Island
(1) (1) (1)
131 16 Aug AD2009 Sumatra − 1.47/99.49 2 Indonesia Padang M w 6.7 0.18 1 * 5 – 42 1

E. Alam et al. / Earth-Science Reviews 114 (2012) 175–193

132 30 Sep AD2009 Sumatra − 0.72/99.86 2 Indonesia Padang M w 7.5 (1) 0.27 (1)
1 (1)
* 5 – 43 1
(1) (1) (1)
133 6 Apr AD2010 Sumatra 2.3/97.13 2 Indonesia Sumatra M w 7.7 0.44 6 * 5 – 85 1
134 12 Jun AD2010 Little Nicobar 7.74/91.93 2 Sri Lanka Kutch (1) M w 7.5
(1)
0.03 (1)
1 (1)
* 5 – 86 1
Island
135 25 Oct AD2010 Sumatra –3.48/100.08 2 Indonesia Sumatra Mw 7.5 (1) 0.33 (1)
4 (1)
* 5 2 1

Note: Asterisk (*) indicates no information available.

Reference # and detail of primary and secondary sources for each tsunami referred to in columns 14 and 15:
1. National Geophysical Data Centre (NGDC) (2011). 2. National Earthquake Information Centre (NEIC) (1971 to present). 3. Nutalaya et al. (1985). 4. Cummins (2007). 5. Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) (2011). 6. Seismological
Society of America (SSA) (1930). 7. New York Times (1930). 8. Bapat (1982). 9. Berninghausen (1966). 10. Murty and Rafiq (1991). 11. Naval Oceanographic Office (1968). 12. Ortiz and Bilham (2003). 13. Frank and Husain (1971). 14. Bilham (2004). 15.
Jordan (2008). 16. Bilham (1994). 17. Soloviev and Ferchev (1961). 18. Bilham (1998). 19. Danard and Murty (1989). 20. Latter (1969). 21. Lisitzin (1974). 22. Hough et al. (2005). 23. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
(1928–1986). 24. NOAA/Pacific Tsunami Warning Center-PTWC (2006) 25. Soloviev and Go (1974). 26. Heck (1947). 27. Gongxu et al. (1989). 28. Hebenstreit and Moustafa (1991). 29. Soetardjo et al. (1985). 30. Chong-Hua et al. (1985). 31. Anon.
(1909). 32. Soetadi (1962). 33. Kerr (1824). 34. Kvale (1955). 35. Iida et al. (1967). 36. International Tsunami Information Center (ITIC) (1982). 37. Lander et al. (2003). 38. Soloviev et al. (1992). 39. Satake and Imamura (1995). 40. ITIC (1994). 41. ITIC
(2005). 42. NOAA/Pacific Tsunami Warning Center-PTWC (2009a). 43. NOAA/Pacific Tsunami Warning Center-PTWC (2009b). 44. Dominey-Howes et al. (2007). 45. Murty and Bapat (1999). 46. Logan (1887). 47. Smith (1843a). 48. Oldham (1882). 49.
Hirst (1763). 50. Wichmann (1918a). 51. Newcomb and McCann (1987). 52. Natawidjaja et al. (2006). 53. Zachariasen et al. (1999). 54. Estridge (1883). 55. Wichmann (1918b). 56. Oldham (1884). 57. Visser (1930). 58. Jhingran (1952). 59. Bilham et
al. (2005). 60. Lay et al. (2005). 61. Berninghausen (1969). 62. Simkin and Fiske (1983). 63. Rastogi and Jaiswal (2006). 64. Bendick and Bilham (1999). 65. Mathur (1998). 66. Macmurdo (1821). 67. Rastogi (2007). 68. Novosibirsk Tsunami Laboratory
(2010). 69. ITIC (2002). 70. Mallet (Reports for, 1852, 1853, 1854). 71. Milne (1911). 72. Davison (1921). 73. Royal Society of London (1881). 74. British Association for the Advancement of Science (BAAS) (1912). 75. Judd (1889). 76. Heidarzadeh et al.
(2008). 77. Robson (1933). 78. Pararas-Carayannis (2006). 79. Nakamura (1984). 80. Gulston (1763). 81. Verelst (1763). 82. Smith (1844). 83. Fergusson (1863). 84. Balakina (2006). 85. NOAA West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center (2009a).
86. NOAA/Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (2009b). 87. Hamzah et al. (2000). 88. Rao and Rao (1984). 89. Anon. (n.d.-a). 90. Anon. (n.d.-b). 91. Anon. (1827). 92. The Asiatic Society (n.d) The Journal of Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. 14, pp. 605. 93.
Mallet (1878). 94. Smith (1843b). 95. Evans and Wharton (1888). 96. Beer and Stagg (1946). 97. Pendse (1946). 98. Jaiswal et al. (2008). 99. Engdahl et al. (1998). 100. ITIC (1985). 101. Kumar and Achyuthan (2006). 102. Geiger (Translator) (1934).
103. Dahanayake and Kulasena (2008). 104. Jankaew et al. (2008). 105. Rajendran et al. (2010). 106. Monecke et al. (2008). 107. Manimaran and Chacko (2006). 108. Mörner et al. (2008). 109. Yawsangratt et al. (2011). 110. Fujino et al. (2009). 111.
Walker (1884). 112. Kunz et al. (2010). 113. Anon. (1897a). 114. Anon. (1897b). 115. Ganse and Nelson (1982). 116. Anon. (1907).

185
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Table 3
Database coding with detailed descriptors.

Parameter Description

Cause code 1 = unknown, 2 = earthquake, 3 = earthquake and landslide, 4 = volcano, 5 = meteorological

Max. water height (m) Maximum water height above sea level in metres
Validity 1 = erroneous entry, 2 = seiche in or disturbance of an inland water body, 3 = doubtful tsunami, 4 = probable tsunami, 5 = definite tsunami
Comments Relevant key information from references
Superscript number Superscript numbers following descriptions in the “Key Comments” column, refer to the reference listed beneath Table 2

and Kulasena, 2008). Dahanayake and Kulasena (2008) refer to a local (Fig. 3b). Most of the definite tsunamis reported after AD1900 are in-
historical document (Geiger, 1934) for a tsunami during that period. strumentally recorded, but the nine definite events prior to this have
The possibly large time gap between the first (38,000BC?) and second all been validated in the absence of instrumental records. For exam-
(3000–2000BC) events is important because it hints at the probability ple, the 10–11 February AD1797 event had already been validated
that more palaeotsunamis remain to be identified within the region's as a definite tsunami by both the NGDC and NTL, but we also obtained
geological record. Analysis of the events listed in Table 2 indicates that a clear description of the event and the devastation it caused on the
prior to the Christian era and from the early Christian era to AD1000, mainland and Batu Island of Indonesia (Heck, 1947; Berninghausen,
six and seven tsunamis were reported, respectively (Fig. 3a). Four tsu- 1966; Soloviev and Go, 1974; Hamzah et al., 2000).
namis are identified as occurring between AD1001 and AD1500, and In addition to the 119 definite to doubtful tsunamis, 20 were
one each during the 15th and 16th centuries. It is only from the 17th reported as seiches or disturbances of inland waters and six were er-
century onwards that evidence for tsunamis becomes more readily roneously reported as tsunamis. The events validated as a disturbance
identifiable. An analysis of tsunamis in different administrative periods of inland waters or only causing a seiche were either triggered by an
of the region indicates that before the Mughal (pre-AD1500), during the inland earthquake or by a low magnitude one at sea. Our validity as-
Mughal (AD1500–1756), through the British Empire (AD1757–1947) sessment indicates that the apparent tsunamis (e.g., 6 September
and in the post-British period (AD1948–2010), 16, 5, 83 and 31 tsu- AD1833, 14 August AD1918, 18 December AD1935, 21 December
namis are recorded, respectively (Fig. 3b). AD1951, 23 September AD1955) caused by earthquakes in China
In most cases the source of an event has been reported or identi-
fied. Only 16 out of the 135 purported tsunamis in Table 2 have no
recognised source. Of the remaining tsunamis, 77 (64%—most along
the Sunda Subduction Zone) originated in Indonesia, 10 (9%) in the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands, five each from China, Myanmar, the
east India coastline, and the west India coastline along with the
Makran Subduction Zone, four each from the Bay of Bengal and Ma-
laysia, two each from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, and one each from
the Chagos Archipelago and south Indian Ocean (see detail in
Table 2). The percentage of tsunamis that we report as originating
from the Indonesian region is less than the 80% inferred by Rastogi
and Jaiswal (2006). This is because we did not count all tsunamis
originating in Java, as some parts of the island lie outside of our
study region boundaries.
Of the 135 events listed in Table 2, 115 are reported to have been
generated by earthquakes, six by volcanic eruptions, two by earth-
quakes coupled with landslides, and two by meteorological processes.
We were unable to identify the cause of ten events from the source
documents (namely, 1500BC, 50BC–AD100, AD9–AD11, AD1524, 4
May AD1851, 19 August AD1868, 4 July AD1904, 16 March AD1917,
10 April AD1922 and 9 November AD1929).

5. Discussion

In our discussion, we address key aspects of our work including

the validity assessment of reported tsunamis, the geographical and
temporal distribution of events in the region, and the numerous prob-
lems we experienced in collecting data about events affecting the Bay
of Bengal.

5.1. Validity assessment

A validity assessment of the tsunamis provides us with the oppor-

tunity to categorise events from ‘definite’ through to a mistaken re-
cording (Table 3). After the validity assessment was completed, we
identified 31 definite tsunamis, 27 probable tsunamis and 51 doubtful
tsunamis. It is interesting to note that before AD1801 we can validate
only two definite tsunamis (Fig. 3a). During the periods AD1801– Fig. 3. Temporal distribution of reported tsunami events with assigned validity scores,
1900 and AD1901–2000 on the other hand, we can validate eight def- in the Indian Ocean region. (a) Historical events reported in the region before AD1801
inite tsunamis in each period, whereas after AD2000, 13 are identified by century, (b) distribution of reported tsunamis from AD1801 to AD2010 by decade.
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E. Alam et al. / Earth-Science Reviews 114 (2012) 175–193
were actually seiches or turbulence in inland waters (Fig. 4). For ex-
ample, the 6 September AD1833 event was triggered by an earth-
quake in the Yunnan Province, China (Latitude 25.2°S and Longitude
103°E) and only generated a seiche in an inland lake (Gongxu et al.,
1989). For the 9 November AD1929 event, the NGDC database
(2011) refers to Soloviev and Go (1974, p. 280), who state that “…
with a calm sea, a suddenly advancing high roller with breakers capsized
a sloop, as a result of which six people drowned. The cause of the wave is
unknown. It was the ebb tide phase. No earthquake was felt, and the
nearest seismograph at Medan did not register anything unusual”. No
other document contains a source location (e.g., Hamzah et al.,
2000) for any tsunami on that date. We therefore considered this
event to be a seiche (Validity 2) of unknown cause. Additionally,
our validity assessment for reported tsunamis from the east coast of
India also suggests that those events were actually seiche or errone-
ously reported (see Table 2 and Fig. 4).
Some events such as those on the 19 May AD1886 and 21 March
AD1888 have been validated as erroneously reported by the sole
source document (NTL, 2010). Latter (1969) listed the 9 January
AD1876 event as a natural disaster caused by a tsunami of seismic or-
igin. However, Frank and Husain (1971) listed the same event as one
of the deadliest tropical cyclones in history, locally known as the
‘Bakerganj Cyclone’, with a water surge of 40 ft that impacted coastal
Bangladesh. Therefore, we consider this event to have been a tropical
Fig. 4. Spatial distribution of source locations of reported tsunamis affecting the northern Indian Ocean, particularly the northern Bay of Bengal (the validity assessment includes
source locations from definite to erroneously reported tsunamis).
187
cyclone together with an associated sea surge (e.g., Frank and Husain,
1971; Danard and Murty, 1989).
5.2. Spatial and temporal distribution of events
Our statistical analysis indicates that the Indonesian archipelago is
the most common source area for the reported tsunamis, accounting
for 63% of all events within our study area. This source region also con-
tributed 56% of reported definite and probable tsunamis in the Indian
Ocean (see detail in Table 2 and Fig. 4). India is the country with the
next highest percentage of definite and probable tsunamis (15%). Other
affected countries (based on a decreasing number of events) include
Sri Lanka, Australia, the Maldives, Seychelles, Thailand, Malaysia, Myan-
mar, Bangladesh, Oman, Yemen, Somalia, Tanzania, Kenya and South
Africa.
Before AD1801, the wider study region was affected by only three
definite or probable tsunamis. These occurred on 30 November
AD1770, 2 April AD1762 and 10 February AD1797. The AD1762
event originated from the Arakan Subduction Zone (Fig. 2)
(Cummins, 2007) and affected several countries including Bangla-
desh, India and Myanmar (Hirst, 1763; Oldham, 1882). Both the
AD1770 and AD1797 events originated from Sumatra (Sunda Subduc-
tion Zone) and their impacts were limited to Sumatra and the Batu
Islands of Indonesia (Heck, 1947; NGDC, 2011). During the 1800s,
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188 E. Alam et al. / Earth-Science Reviews 114 (2012) 175–193

the Indian Ocean region was affected by eight definite tsunamis. Of
these, the 19 August AD1868 event originated from the Andaman
Islands (Andaman Trench) and impacted the area surrounding Port
Blair (Murty and Rafiq, 1991). The remaining events originated
from, and affected, the Indonesian coastline with the exception of
the 26 August AD1883 tsunami, which affected Indonesia, India, the
Arabian Peninsula, the west coast of Australia and several other coun-
tries (Berninghausen, 1966; Simkin and Fiske, 1983). After AD1901,
21 definite tsunamis were reported. The 2004 IOT was the most
fatal and damaging, with a maximum wave height of 50.90 m, and
an estimated death toll of 297,248 in 16 countries (NGDC, 2011).
Poisson probability calculations were conducted on the region's
tsunami database to estimate the occurrence of tsunamis in the fu-
ture. Based on the reported events with earthquake magnitude 7 or
more with validity scores of 4 and 5 (probable and definite tsunamis
respectively), the probability of one or more such events affecting
the whole region is 18% per year and 100% in a century (Table 4).
The probability of the occurrence of a tsunami with a wave height
>2 m is 3% in any one year and 93% in a century. Tsunamis with a
>1 m wave height however, have an occurrence probability of 5%
per year and 100% per century. However, the occurrence of a likely
definite tsunami in the whole region is 10% in any given year and
99.99% in a century (Table 4).
5.3. Tsunamis in the northern Bay of Bengal
We identified the definite and probable tsunamis that affected the
northern end of the Bay of Bengal, namely Bangladesh, India and
Myanmar. Fifteen events (event #s 7, 8, 22, 30 43, 45, 56, 59, 61, 93,
103, 104, 122, 123 and 126) affected at least one of these countries,
but of these reported tsunamis, only the 2 April AD1762 affected all
three countries prior to the 2004 IOT (Fig. 5). Interestingly, no other
tsunami since AD1762 has affected the Bangladesh coast—at least
none that we can find evidence for. The Myanmar coast on the
other hand was impacted by another devastating historical tsunami
on 5 May AD1930 (Fig. 5). The ancient seaport of Pegu was reportedly
devastated and 500 people killed (Nutalaya et al., 1985; CRED, 2011;
NGDC, 2011).
The east coast of India (e.g., Chennai (previously Madras),
Nagapatnum and Visakhapatnam), at the northern end of the Bay of
Bengal (Fig. 5), has been affected by several historical tsunamis.
Apart from reported tsunamis originating from the Bay of Bengal
(i.e., 31 December AD1881, 26 June AD1941) or the Andaman and
Nicobar Islands (i.e., 31 October AD1847, 19 August AD1868), the
east coast of India (Fig. 5) was severely devastated by the catastrophic
Krakatau eruption on the 27 August AD1883 and by the 2004 IOT. A
maximum 2 m tsunami was recorded on the coast at Chennai, associ-
ated with the AD1883 Krakatau volcano tsunami (NGDC, 2011),
whilst the 2004 IOT killed 16,269 people along the Indian coastline
(Fig. 5). Data suggest that the region is vulnerable to tsunamis ema-
nating from the Indonesian region.
The Poisson probability analysis indicates that the Bangladesh and
Myanmar coasts have a much lower risk with a probability of 0.99%
per year and 63% per century. This is markedly lower than
Cummins' (2007) prediction of an 8.5 magnitude tsunamigenic earth-
quake from the Arakan Subduction Zone occurring once in a century.
The occurrences of definite tsunamis on either the Bangladesh, Indian
or Myanmar coasts are 3% and 95% per year, and per century, respec-
tively, whilst the occurrences of definite and probable tsunamis in the
same area and period are 5% and 99%, respectively (Table 4).
5.4. Cross-checking
In order to validate each event listed within our database, we
cross-checked our source documents to identify any inconsistencies
and contradictions in the description of an event. Similar strategies
have been effectively used to develop historical and palaeotsunami
databases for Australia (Dominey-Howes, 2007), New Zealand (Goff
et al., 2010), Australasia (Goff and Dominey-Howes, 2009) and the
South China Sea (Lau et al., 2010). We noted incorrect and incomplete
citations, differences in dating of an event between different sources,
contradictory descriptions, probable exaggerations of casualties and
issues related to proposed earthquake magnitudes.
5.4.1. Incorrect and incomplete citations
We observed incorrect and incomplete citations whilst recording
data from our source documents. For example, for the AD1984
event—a relatively recent tsunami, Rastogi and Jaiswal (2006) refer
to Engdahl et al. (1998) without actually including them in their ref-
erence list. However, when cross-checked, the Engdahl et al. (1998)
source did not actually contain any information about that event.
Equally, references cited in the NGDC database (2011) should not

Table 4
Probability of northern Indian Ocean region being affected by tsunamis, calculated from the occurrence of historical tsunamis in the region using Poisson probability calculations
(time period AD1710 to AD2010).

Category Reported tsunami events # of Probability of having Probability of having

reported one or more such one or more such
events event in a year event in 100 years

1. Reported events with earthquake magnitude 22, 23, 24, 28, 30, 34, 35, 36, 37, 41, 43, 45, 47, 50, 51, 52, 53, 56, 59, 59 0.1779 (=18%) 1 (=100%)
7 or more with validity scores 4, 5 (probable 60, 61, 71, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 101, 102, 103,
and definite tsunamis) 104, 107, 109, 113, 114, 116, 117, 118, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125,
126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 132, 133, 134, 135
2. Reported definite tsunamis 22, 24, 35, 41, 50, 51, 52, 56, 59, 61, 78, 79, 93, 103, 104, 115, 116, 31 0.0978 (=10%) 0.9999 (=99.99%)
121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135
3. Reported events that affected either 22, 30, 43, 45, 56, 59, 61, 93, 103, 104, 122, 123, 126 13 0.0422 (=4.2%) 0.9868 (=99%)
Bangladesh, India or Myanmar with validity
scores 4, 5 (probable and definite tsunamis)
4. Reported definite tsunamis that affected either 22, 93, 123 3 0.0099 (=0.99%) 0.6321 (=63%)
Bangladesh or Myanmar coast
5. Reported definite tsunami events that affected 22, 56, 59, 61, 93, 103, 104, 122, 123 9 0.0294 (=3%) 0.9502 (=95%)
either Bangladesh, India or Myanmar
6. Reported tsunamis with recorded wave 25, 50, 56, 61, 78, 92, 123, 124 8 0.0262 (=3%) 0.9305 (=93%)
heights of >2 m
7. Reported tsunamis with recorded wave 22, 25, 39, 47, 50, 56, 59, 61, 78, 79, 92, 94, 108, 116, 123, 124 16 0.0517 (=5%) 0.9951 (99.5%)
heights of >1 m
8. Reported events with run-up heights of > 1 m 22, 47, 50, 56, 59, 61, 78, 79, 94, 116, 123, 124 12 0.0390 (=4%) 0.9816 (=98%)
and validity scores 4, 5 (probable and definite
tsunamis)

Note: Statistical analysis was carried out on the most complete time series of events between AD1710 and AD2010 because of the lack of events prior to AD1710.
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E. Alam et al. / Earth-Science Reviews 114 (2012) 175–193
Fig. 5. Source regions and affected areas of six major tsunamis in the northern Bay of Bengal.
be taken at face value because during our data collection period (Feb-
ruary 2010–April 2011) we found a number of instances where en-
tries were edited and new references added. This is entirely
acceptable since it is a live document, but it requires the archivist to
repeatedly refer back to the database in order to confirm the validity
of individual entries and to check for new events that may have been
added to the database. For example, we used the events of 6 Septem-
ber AD1833, 14 August AD1918, 18 December AD1935, 21 December
AD1951, 23 September AD1955 cited in the NGDC database (2011),
but by the time we consulted their primary source (Gongxu et al.,
1989), the secondary source (i.e., NGDC, 2011) had deleted the en-
tries from its database. Additionally, when we started developing
our database, we found that NGDC included the AD1737 event as a
tsunami but when we searched again in April 2011, the NGDC had de-
leted this event from its list. Thus this data source is dynamic.
The catalogue by Oldham (1882) uses many original references,
but in several cases the citations are incomplete. For example, for
the 16 February AD1861 event, Oldham (1882) refers to the Journal
of the Asiatic Society of Bengal without any date, volume and page
number, and for the 24 August AD1858 tsunami, he refers to the
Friend of India, a weekly magazine, without any date or issue number.
We have therefore been unable to consult these original sources.
5.4.2. Difference in dating for the same event
In a number of cases, different dates have been reported for the same
event. We found two dates for the event of either 325BC (Lisitzin, 1974;
Pararas-Carayannis, 2006) or 326BC (Murty and Bapat, 1999; Dominey-
189
Howes et al., 2007). Given the antiquity of this event, we do not consid-
er this to be two separate events (since the different sources describe
the same event—they just list different dates). There is no controversy
surrounding the date of the 2 April AD1762 tsunami, although Murty
and Rafiq (1991) recorded this event as the 12 April AD1762. Some au-
thors (e.g., Rastogi and Jaiswal, 2006; Rastogi, 2007) listed the 5 January
and 5–6 January AD1843 events as two separate entries. However, we
can confirm that this is the same tsunami that took place over a two-
day period (e.g., Heck, 1947; Berninghausen, 1966; Newcomb and
McCann, 1987; Hamzah et al., 2000), with one tsunami occurring
around midnight on the 5th January with waves arriving on both the
5th and 6th January (Oldham, 1882). For the 26 July AD1914 entry,
the NGDC (2011) cited Soloviev and Go (1974) for their source. Howev-
er, the original reference (Soloviev and Go, 1974) cites this event as oc-
curring on the 26 July AD1915. The timing has therefore been corrected
and no event number has been assigned for the NGDC's erroneous
entry.
5.4.3. Contradictory descriptions: earthquake, tsunami and cyclone
Previously published tsunami catalogues sometimes provided
contradictory descriptions for the same event as an earthquake, a tsu-
nami or a cyclone. For example, Murty and Rafiq (1991) recorded the
AD1737 event as a tsunami in the Hoogli River caused by an earth-
quake near Kolkata (formerly Calcutta). This event was also listed as
an earthquake by Milne (1911) who referred to data in Oldham
(1882). However, Oldham (1882) reported that this event related to
an earthquake and a tropical cyclone occurring at the same time.
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190 E. Alam et al. / Earth-Science Reviews 114 (2012) 175–193
Bilham (1994) consulted original British library documents and con-
ducted field investigations of the AD1737 event and concluded that
the event was in fact, a cyclone. The AD1876 event has been described
as a tsunami originating from the Andaman Sea (Latter, 1969). It was
however also known as the ‘Bakergonj tropical cyclone’ of AD1876
(Danard and Murty, 1989) with a central pressure of 930 mb (Frank
and Husain, 1971). The 26 June AD1941 event killed 5000 people
and both the Indian media and Bapat (1982) attributed this to a cy-
clone. It is now evident that the event was a tsunami generated with-
in the Andaman Sea (e.g., Jhingran, 1952; Murty and Rafiq, 1991;
Dominey-Howes et al., 2007; NGDC, 2011). For the 20 February
AD2008 event, the NTL (2010) indicated that this tsunami was caused
by an explosion as well as providing a description of an earthquake of
magnitude Mw 7.4. Following discussions with the Novosibirsk Tsu-
nami Laboratory (NTL) about this unusual description, it has now
been confirmed that the previously reported earthquake source was
an error.
5.4.4. Exaggeration of casualty numbers
Either exaggerating or understating the number of casualties asso-
ciated with an event is a common error in disaster data reporting
(CRED, 2011). For the 11 October AD1737 event, both Oldham
(1882) and Murty and Rafiq (1991) recorded 300,000 casualties,
whereas Bilham (1994) and Dominey-Howes et al. (2007) reported
only 3000. Bilham (1994) analysed historical documents from local
sources showing that the population in Kolkata was less than
20,000 in AD1737 and suggested that a number of 3000 deaths
were more likely, an interpretation that seemed reasonable to
Dominey-Howes et al. (2007). Another example is the 16 February
AD1861 event for which the NGDC (2011) reported 1105 deaths,
whilst Hamzah et al. (2000) mention just 50 deaths. Murty and
Rafiq (1991) reported a tsunami in AD1935 near Quetta, indicating
some agitation in the local seas but also recording 30,000 casualties,
whereas other sources such as Rastogi and Jaiswal (2006) and
Jaiswal et al. (2008) did not mention any deaths at all.
5.4.5. Differences in magnitude of earthquakes
The size of an earthquake is commonly defined by its magnitude.
Here, we use two measurement scales, Ms and Mw (see Table 2). Surface
wave or Ms (Gutenberg, 1945), a commonly used magnitude, is based
on the ground amplitudes of surface-waves with intervals of approxi-
mately 17–23 s at distances between 15° and 30°. Alternatively, Mw, a
logarithmic measure of earthquake size (Hanks and Kanamori, 1979),
is a more modern earthquake magnitude scale and is based on the seis-
mic moment (M0) or the amount of energy released by an earthquake.
Mw is available for recent strong earthquakes. When an event we list
was generated by an earthquake, we record the magnitude listed in
the original source documents. We note that many tsunami catalogues
did not list the earthquake Ms or Mw. Further, on occasions when the
magnitude is recorded, there are often differences in the stated magni-
tude. For example, for the AD1967 event, three magnitudes were
recorded, Ms 6.1 (NGDC, 2011), Ms 6.5 (Hamzah et al., 2000) and Mw
7.5 (NTL, 2010). Similarly, for the 3 June AD1909 event, three different
magnitudes, Ms 7.6, Ms 7.3 and Mw 7.2 were reported by the same
three references cited above. In addition to these events, differences in
earthquake magnitudes were also reported for other tsunamis, namely,
the AD1797, 24 November AD1833, 31 December AD1881, 4 April
AD1905, 4 January AD1907, 3 June AD1909, 25 June AD1914, 25 Sep-
tember AD1931, 26 June AD1941, 16 December AD1963 and 12 April
AD1967 events.
6. Palaeotsunamis in the Bay of Bengal
A palaeotsunami is defined as a tsunami occurring before the his-
torical record of a region begins (Goff et al., 2010). Distinguishing be-
tween a historical and a palaeotsunami for the Bay of Bengal region is
difficult because of the varying ages of written records in countries
surrounding the bay. For example, one of the earliest records of a his-
torical tsunami goes back to 3000–2000BC in Sri Lanka (Geiger, 1934;
Dahanayake and Kulasena, 2008), whilst on the Indian coastline the
earliest reported tsunami goes back to 1500BC based on Mahabharata
epic 1 (Manimaran and Chacko, 2006). However, whilst in India writ-
ten records extend back some 2000 years or so (Tummala, 1996),
they rarely deal with natural hazards (e.g., tsunamis, earthquakes, cy-
clones, floods, etc.) and if they do the information is often incorrect. A
good example of this is the misleading recording of an AD1737 cy-
clone as an earthquake (Bilham, 1994; Dominey-Howes et al., 2007).
Yawsangratt et al. (2011) examined deposits at various coastal
sites of Phang Nga Province, Thailand, a region heavily affected by
the 2004 IOT, for the presence of palaeotsunami events. Whilst they
discovered a possible late Holocene palaeotsunami deposit, two shells
from the unit yielded 14C ages of >43,000BP (Yawsangratt et al.,
2011). The shell dates are unlikely to represent the age of the event
and are most likely reworked. Whilst more work needs to be carried
out to better determine the age of this event, Yawsangratt et al.
(2011) infer a Holocene age and tentatively suggest that it may corre-
late with an event that occurred about 600 years ago (Jankaew et al.,
2008).
Another early event in the region, the 325BC tsunami, has primar-
ily been reported in the travel history of Alexander the Great's
Maccedonian fleet (Lisitzin, 1974), which is not a local written source.
Kale et al. (1996) refer to AD1700 as a limit between historical and
palaeofloods in India. The Andaman region by contrast, has a written
record of tsunamis that extends back just 260 years (Kunz et al.,
2007). Kumar and Achyuthan (2006) listed palaeotsunamis in the In-
dian Ocean but did not provide any timeline between historical and
palaeotsunamis and also included recent instrumentally recorded
tsunami events in the list of palaeotsunamis for that region. The
point is that if individual countries are considered, we might have
an event that is a palaeotsunami event in one country and a historical
event in a neighbouring country, a situation recently termed a ‘hybrid
tsunami’ (Goff et al., 2010). As such, care must be taken when consid-
ering events that may have affected different regions.
Based upon sedimentary evidence, Jankaew et al. (2008) docu-
mented one palaeotsunami event around 800BC in Thailand.
Dahanayake and Kulasena (2008) primarily refer to local historical
evidence (e.g., Geiger, 1934), for the tsunami occurrence between
3000 and 2000BC in Sri Lanka, although they later conducted geolog-
ical investigations in southern Sri Lanka to validate the event. The tsu-
nami events of 800BC and AD1300–1450 have been identified using
sedimentary evidence and radiocarbon dating on the coast of Thai-
land (Jankaew et al., 2008). Monecke et al. (2008) and Kunz et al.
(2010) discovered another two palaeotsunami events, which oc-
curred during the periods AD780–AD900, and AD1000 respectively,
based on sediment analysis.
7. Questions arising and recommendations for further work
During collection and analysis of our database, two key questions
have arisen:
(1) Are events that are listed in different source documents actual-
ly evidence for a single event affecting a wider region? For ex-
ample, from our new database we note that on 16 February
AD1861, a tsunami struck southwest Sumatra, Indonesia
(Heck, 1947; Berninghausen, 1966; Newcomb and McCann,
1987; Hamzah et al., 2000). Similarly, Oldham (1882) recorded
an earthquake in Penang, Malaysia, occurring on the same day,
1
The Mahabharata is a classical Sanskrit epic of India, probably composed between
200BC and AD200. It is the foremost source concerning classical Indian civilisation (Ra-
jagopalachari, 1970).
 Author's personal copy
E. Alam et al. / Earth-Science Reviews 114 (2012) 175–193
16 February AD1861 and reported very unusual sea turbulence
during calm weather, and that tank water rose one foot above
its normal level in Kolkata. Oldham (1882) referred to the
Friend of India and the Journal of Asiatic Society of Bengal
without providing any year or volume number, and we were
unable to find and consult this incomplete citation. A thorough
search of the above mentioned documents should be undertak-
en to understand the magnitude of the 16 February AD1861
event and assess whether it simultaneously affected the coasts
of Indonesia, Malaysia and India.
(2) From our earliest reported tsunami at 38,000BC(?) to AD1800—
an interval of nearly 40,000 years, 21 tsunamis are reported in
our database, whilst from AD1801 to AD2010, a period of only
210 years, 109 tsunamis are reported (Table 2). However,
from this dataset we can only validate 20 definite tsunamis
from AD1901 to October AD2010 and 9 from 38,000BC(?) to
AD1900. Hence, the research question arises about whether
the region was affected by many tsunamis before AD1800 or
not (or whether this is due to a lack of records)? We, therefore,
recommend further thorough local archival research. The fur-
ther in time we go back the more fragmented the historical re-
cord becomes. Consequently, it is necessary to use multiple
sources of evidence to identify past tsunamis. This will include
but not be limited to geological (Dominey-Howes et al., 2006;
Dawson and Stewart, 2007; Goff and Dominey-Howes, 2009),
geochemical (Chagué-Goff, 2010), anthropological (King and
Goff, 2010) and archaeological (McFadgen and Goff, 2007)
studies.
8. Conclusions
The 2004 IOT prompted efforts to better understand tsunami haz-
ard and risk locally, regionally and globally. The 2004 IOT and
Cummins's subsequent 2007 publication dealing with the
tsunamigenicity of the northern Bay of Bengal have resulted in signif-
icant regional and international interest to record tsunami in that re-
gion. An understanding of the tsunamigenic nature of the Bay of
Bengal begins with recording tsunami events from the broader source
areas for that region. To date, a total of 135 reported tsunami events
have been recorded in historical archives, geological and modern tsu-
nami literatures. The main source regions for these tsunamis are the
SSZ, the AT (Andaman and Nicobar Arc), the ASZ and the MSZ. The
earliest tsunami event recorded in our database is reported to have
occurred approximately 40,000BP, although the dated material is
considered to have been reworked. The second earliest reported tsu-
nami affected the coast of Sri Lanka around 3000–2000BC. Our collec-
tion and analysis of tsunami data in the region reveal that there are
few reports of tsunamis before AD1800, whereas reporting of tsu-
namis after AD1800 increased markedly. After completing a process
of validity assessment, we validated 31 definite tsunamis from the
reported 135 events. We have validated only two definite tsunamis
before AD1801, eight each during AD1801–1900 and AD1901–2000,
and 13 after AD2000, which implies that we can only validate a few
definite tsunamis going further back in history, based on archival
data and other single referencing documents. The Indonesian Archi-
pelago is reported as the most tsunamigenic area and also most af-
fected by the reported events. Based on historical records from
AD1710 to AD2010, the likelihood of definite tsunami occurrence in
any one year in the northern end of the Bay of Bengal is very low
(3%). However, the probability of the whole region being hit by a tsu-
nami (e.g., earthquake magnitude 7 or more, with probable and defi-
nite tsunamis) from any source in a given year is comparatively high
(18%). By collating and analysing tsunami records, we have identified
a number of important research priorities for further work in the re-
gion to better understand and quantify the hazard—a first step to-
wards improved tsunami risk management.
191
Acknowledgements
Funding for this work via Strategic Research Priority Fund grant
(SPF01/PS16502) awarded to Dominey-Howes by the University of
New South Wales is gratefully acknowledged. Thanks to Shiquan
Ren at the School of BEES, UNSW for teaching Poisson probability cal-
culation to Edris Alam. Thanks to Professor McAdoo and an anony-
mous reviewer for their valuable comments on an earlier version of
this paper. The authors would like to acknowledge support received
from Disaster Action Development Organization (DADO), Bangladesh,
for data collection in Bangladesh.
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