Deadliest natural disaster in Balinese history in November 1815 revealed by Western and Indonesian written sources

Audrey Faral (), Franck Lavigne, Wayan Jarrah Sastrawan, I Gede Putu Eka Suryana, Alicia Schrikker, Made Pageh, Atmaja Dewa Made, Made Windu Antara Kesiman, Mukhamad Ngainul Malawani and Danang Sri Hadmoko
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Audrey Faral: Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne
Franck Lavigne: Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne
Wayan Jarrah Sastrawan: École française d’Extrême-Orient
I Gede Putu Eka Suryana: Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha
Alicia Schrikker: Leiden University
Made Pageh: Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha
Atmaja Dewa Made: Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha
Made Windu Antara Kesiman: Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha
Mukhamad Ngainul Malawani: Universitas Gadjah Mada
Danang Sri Hadmoko: Universitas Gadjah Mada

Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, 2024, vol. 120, issue 13, No 21, 12041 pages

Abstract: Abstract In November 1815, the deadliest “natural” disaster in Balinese history was caused by the exceptional combination of multiple natural hazards that occurred simultaneously and cascaded in the present-day province of Buleleng. This major disaster, which is thought to have claimed more than 10,000 lives, has never been scientifically analyzed. The study conducts an in-depth analysis of this cascading disaster, from the root causes and chronology of natural hazards to their environmental and societal effects, by thoroughly examining all available written sources about this event, whether colonial or Indonesian. Seven months after the Tambora eruption, a magnitude 7.3 earthquake, which occurred in the Bali Sea off the northern coast of the island, triggered a very large landslide on the northern flank of the Buyan-Bratan caldera. The initial mass movement evolved into a cohesive debris flow that reached the sea after traveling up to twenty kilometers through Banyumala River Valley and Singaraja City downstream. According to historical accounts, fifteen villages were buried or devastated by the debris flow. The large volume of sediment entering the sea triggered a local tsunami along Buleleng’s coast. This geohistorical approach offers a comprehensive overview of various sources describing Singaraja’s situation before the crisis, the hazard succession, the cascading hazard intensities, and the short- to long-term impacts on Buleleng. Based on the written sources, Bali took around fifteen years to recover from the 1815 disasters.

Keywords: Cascading disaster; Earthquake; Landslide; Debris flow; Tsunami; Tambora eruption (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1007/s11069-024-06671-5

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