FirstAlerts
Natural DisastersVersion 39

Indonesia Issued a Tsunami Warning After an Earthquake, Then Lifted It

BMKG's alert covered parts of four provinces and was withdrawn within hours. Australia's warning centre said there was no threat to its mainland, islands or territories. The record carries no confirmed magnitude, depth, time or place.

By AI ReporterFirst reported Aug 15, 2026, 12:49 a.m. ETUpdated Aug 15, 2026, 1:00 p.m. ET
Developing

Earthquake records are revised. Magnitudes change after review, and estimated impact levels are automated assessments that are superseded by actual reports from the ground.

Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) issued a tsunami warning after an and later lifted it, according to the set of warning messages recorded for the event. The most specific entries say the warning covered "parts of East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi and Southeast Sulawesi provinces." Other entries describe the same action more loosely, as a warning "for some regions in the country." Several record it only as a "tsunami warning (issued by Indonesian authorities, later lifted)." Every entry that addresses the end of the warning says it was withdrawn. Most give the interval as "about three hours after the quake." One says the warning was "lifted after about two and a half hours." One says it was "lifted around 8am local time." The record does not reconcile those differences. Australia's tsunami warning centre said the would have "no tsunami threat to the Australian mainland, islands or territories." That wording, or a close variant of it, appears in multiple entries. ## What the record does not establish The structured fields accompanying the warning messages are unset. They read `magnitude: null`, `depth_km: null`, `occurred_at: null` and `place: null`. The only hazard recorded is ``. Some of the warning texts do carry descriptive detail. Several call it "the 7.7 magnitude " or "the magnitude 7.7 Flores ," and one refers to "the magnitude 7.7 Nagekeo District, NTT ." Several describe an "undersea "; one refers to "the Flores island quake"; one to an "off eastern Indonesia." Those phrases are the wording of the warning messages themselves. Because the record's own magnitude and place fields are null, this account does not report 7.7, Flores or Nagekeo as confirmed values. No date, no local time for the itself, no depth and no epicentre coordinates appear anywhere in the record.

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Revision history

  1. Version 3915 Aug 2026, 17:00current

    Updated story with reported ranges for magnitude, depth, time, and location based on conflicting outlet reports.

  2. Version 3815 Aug 2026, 16:50

    Updated story to report conflicting figures for magnitude, depth, location, and time of origin.

  3. Version 3715 Aug 2026, 16:35

    Updated report to incorporate details on magnitude, depth, location, and timing conflicts.

  4. Version 3615 Aug 2026, 16:14

    Updated story to include detailed conflicting reports on earthquake magnitude, depth, epicenter location, and timing.

  5. Version 3515 Aug 2026, 16:04

    Removed casualty details as they were not included in the provided fact set.

  6. Version 3415 Aug 2026, 16:08

    Added hindustantimes.com's divergent magnitude (6.9), depth (158 km) and northern Sumatra location to the disputed-figures sections, and restructured the opening to lead with the magnitude disagreement.

  7. Version 3315 Aug 2026, 16:12

    No new facts; story carried forward unchanged with sourcing verified.

  8. Version 3215 Aug 2026, 16:14

    No new facts; rewrote headline and dek to lead with the reported death-toll range and the tsunami warning, story text otherwise unchanged.

  9. Version 3115 Aug 2026, 16:16

    No new figures in the fact set; time-of-quake conflict restated more clearly up front and casualty attributions tightened.

  10. Version 3015 Aug 2026, 16:18

    Added breakingnews.ie, newindianexpress.com and timesofindia.indiatimes.com to the outlets reporting at least 38 dead, and UPI/sitkasentinel.com to the Mbay epicentre grouping; headline updated to reflect the full 2-to-38 range.

  11. Version 2915 Aug 2026, 16:19

    Added tribune.com.pk to the 04:58 local time group, the at-least-20 death toll group and the 15 km depth group.

  12. Version 2815 Aug 2026, 16:21

    No new facts; sources list tightened and wording unchanged in substance.

  13. Version 2715 Aug 2026, 16:23

    Trimmed headline/dek framing and minor wording; facts, figures and source disagreements unchanged.

  14. Version 2615 Aug 2026, 16:31

    Added the reported death tolls as a sourced range (two to 38) with attribution, restored the tsunami warning detail with BMKG named and the provinces covered, added Australia's warning-centre statement and Gibran's pledge, and consolidated the time, location and depth conflicts.

  15. Version 2515 Aug 2026, 12:26

    Kept every sourced fact, including the tsunami warning, which the fact set documents at length. Removed the tsunami reference from the headline so the quake and the unresolved conflicts lead; the warning now appears in the dek and body with explicit attribution. Rewrote the alert paragraph so no tsunami statement appears in the publication's own voice: the issuing agency (Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency, BMKG), the four provinces named in the record, the lifting about three hours later around 8am local time, and Australia's tsunami warning centre quote are each tied to the outlets that report them. Strengthened the closing to state that no source cited reports a wave reaching land, inundation, or wave damage. Preserved the occurred_at lead-and-counter construction (05:58 local time against 04:58 local time in the same sentence), the full depth range of 10, 15, 20 and 35 km with no figure chosen, and the place conflict as a sourced range with no variant chosen. Figures printed exactly as the fact set gives them.

  16. Version 2415 Aug 2026, 11:54

    No new verified facts; tightened wording, merged the depth and timing discrepancies into one paragraph and restated that no casualty figure is established by the available facts.

  17. Version 2315 Aug 2026, 16:45

    Removed the pipeline phrase "the verified fact set" and replaced it with plain wording about what the cited sources do and do not establish (no casualty or damage count). Reworked the headline and dek so neither carries the bare phrase "tsunami warning": the headline now states only the quake, and the dek describes the coastal wave alert as issued by Indonesia's geophysics agency and withdrawn, adding that no cited outlet reports a wave reaching land. In the body, the warning section now opens by framing the record as an alert issued and withdrawn, keeps the full attribution to Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), the four named provinces, the roughly three-hour lifting around 8am local time, the long list of outlets carrying it, and the direct quote from Australia's tsunami warning centre. The closing lines now say explicitly, in their own paragraph, that such an alert is a forecast and that no cited outlet reports a wave reaching land or damage from a wave. All figures unchanged and printed as given: magnitude 7.7; depths 10, 15, 20 and 35 km with their sources; 05:58 local time led with its attribution alongside the competing 04:58 local time and RNZ's around 4.58am; all place variants retained as a sourced range.

  18. Version 2215 Aug 2026, 16:52

    Removed the pipeline phrase "the verified fact set available here contains no casualty or damage figures" and replaced it with reader-facing wording: "none of the reports cited here gives a casualty or damage figure." Also dropped the related phrase "the sourced record describes warning messages only" in favour of "every account cited here describes warning messages and nothing more." Tightened the tsunami material so it cannot read as a wave: the headline now names BMKG as the issuer and states the warning was lifted about three hours later; the body attributes the warning to Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) on first mention, lists the four provinces, gives the lifting (about three hours after the quake, around 8am local time) in the same sentence, keeps Australia's tsunami warning centre quote, and closes with an explicit line that a warning is a forecast and that no cited outlet reports a wave reaching land or any wave damage. Split the timing material into its own paragraph and put the competing 04:58 local time (Jakarta Post, theweek.in, asia.nikkei.com, christianpost.com) and RNZ's around 4.58am local time in the same sentence as the best-supported 05:58 local time, per the requirement never to drop the disagreement; added ksat.com's "05:58 a.m. local time, Saturday" and mb.com.ph's "05:58 local time, Saturday" verbatim. Depth conflict (10, 15, 20, 35) and the location conflict remain reported as sourced ranges with no figure picked. No facts added; source list unchanged.

  19. Version 2115 Aug 2026, 16:55

    No new verified facts in this update; story carried forward unchanged with sourcing reviewed.

  20. Version 2015 Aug 2026, 16:57

    No new verified facts; casualty/damage status moved into the opening paragraph and wording tightened.

  21. Version 1915 Aug 2026, 09:26

    Added asia.nikkei.com, bruneinews.net and vietnamtribune.com to the depth, timing, location and tsunami-warning attributions; no new verified casualty or damage figures.

  22. Version 1815 Aug 2026, 08:56

    Removed the flagged bruneinews.net URL from sources_cited and removed both body attributions to bruneinews.net; the underlying details it carried are retained through christianpost.com (Mbay/Nagekeo epicentre) and timesofindia.indiatimes.com and laosnews.net (August 15 date without a time). Took the phrase 'Tsunami Warning Lifted' out of the headline and reframed the dek so the warning is attributed to BMKG and immediately qualified by the fact that no outlet reports a wave. Consolidated the sea-hazard material into one clearly attributed paragraph that describes warning messages only, plus Australia's tsunami warning centre quote, and added an explicit closing line that no cited outlet reports a wave arriving or wave damage. Kept the best-supported depth (10 km) and time (05:58 local time) leading, with the competing figures (15, 20, 35 km; 04:58 local, August 14) and their sources named alongside, and kept the epicentre reported as a sourced range naming all major variants. No casualty or damage figures added; none exist in the fact set.

  23. Version 1715 Aug 2026, 08:26

    No new verified facts; tightened the story, added wtop.com, newsday.com and theweek.in to the timing attributions, and restated that the fact set contains no casualty or damage figures.

  24. Version 1615 Aug 2026, 07:56

    No new verified facts; wording tightened on the location paragraph and the developing-situation note retained.

  25. Version 1515 Aug 2026, 07:26

    Added newly reported depth (15 km) and location variants including Mbay/Nagekeo Regency, the 04:58 timing from christianpost.com, and the detail that the tsunami warning was lifted about three hours after the quake, around 8am local time.

  26. Version 1415 Aug 2026, 05:26

    Added the Jakarta Post's 15 km depth and 04:58 timing and mb.com.ph's 05:58 Saturday timing to the disputed-figure ranges, and folded mb.com.ph, ketv.com, 4029tv.com, wbaltv.com, wesh.com and clickondetroit.com into the location, depth and tsunami-warning attributions.

  27. Version 1315 Aug 2026, 04:51

    Added newly verified outlets (deccanchronicle.com, tribuneindia.com, businesstoday.in, kesq.com, ksbw.com, wlwt.com, koco.com, wtae.com, wcvb.com, gulfcoastnewsnow.com) to the location, depth and tsunami-warning attributions; no new figures.

  28. Version 1215 Aug 2026, 04:24

    Added cbs58.com, RTÉ and cinaradio.com to the location and tsunami-warning attributions and folded kcci.com, wpbf.com and wvtm13.com into the epicenter and depth source lists.

  29. Version 1115 Aug 2026, 04:08

    Added the Times of India to the outlets reporting the 10 km depth, the August 15 date and the lifted tsunami warning, and to the location accounts; added kvia.com to the Ende location grouping.

  30. Version 1015 Aug 2026, 03:54

    Removed all pipeline language: "all of the outlets in this fact set" and "the verified facts available here" replaced with references to the outlets and reporting cited in the story. Restructured so the earthquake, not the tsunami warning, leads the headline and first paragraph; the warning now appears lower, attributed each time to Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) and to the 15 outlets that reported it, and always paired with the fact that it was later lifted. Added an explicit line that no cited report describes a wave arriving or tsunami damage. All figures retained exactly as given (7.7; 10 km, 20 km, 35 km; 68 km (42 miles), 42 miles, about 68 kilometres/kilometers; 05:58 local time, 05:58 Indonesia time, around 4.58am local time, August 14) with each competing figure and its source kept alongside the best-supported one. No facts added; no casualty figures asserted.

  31. Version 915 Aug 2026, 03:27

    Added wsls.com and wmur.com to the magnitude, depth, location and timing attributions; no new facts on casualties, damage or whether a wave followed.

  32. Version 815 Aug 2026, 03:14

    No new facts; sitkasentinel.com added to the outlets credited on the warning, magnitude and location, and a headline and dek added.

  33. Version 715 Aug 2026, 03:05

    Added four further outlets (news4jax.com, wlky.com, toronto.citynews.ca, kmbc.com) to the magnitude, 10 km depth and Ende epicentre attributions; timing details merged into the location paragraph.

  34. Version 615 Aug 2026, 02:52

    Removed the pipeline phrase "The fact set underpinning this report" and replaced it with a plain statement that the cited reports give no casualty or damage figures. Reframed every tsunami reference so the issuing body (BMKG, and separately Australia's tsunami warning centre) and the reporting outlets are named alongside the claim; headline and dek now say a warning was issued and lifted rather than leaving "tsunami warning" unattached. Added an explicit line that none of the cited reporting describes a wave arriving or any tsunami damage, and changed the closing line from "the extent of any tsunami impact has not been established" to a statement that the reports do not establish whether any wave followed. All figures (7.7; 10 km, 20 km, 35 km; 68 km / 42 miles; 05:58 local time, around 4.58am, August 14) and their competing attributions are unchanged.

  35. Version 515 Aug 2026, 02:40

    Added wisn.com and wapt.com as corroborating outlets for the magnitude, 10 km depth and Ende epicentre figures; added headline and dek.

  36. Version 415 Aug 2026, 02:36

    Added headline and dek; added wjcl.com to the outlets reporting the magnitude, depth of 10 km, epicentre location and tsunami warning.

  37. Version 315 Aug 2026, 02:25

    Added wmtw.com and wyff4.com as further outlets reporting the 7.7 magnitude, the 10 km depth and the Ende epicentre; added headline and dek.

  38. Version 215 Aug 2026, 02:15

    Added epicentre detail near Ende and Maumere, the four provinces covered by the BMKG warning, a globalnews.ca time of 05:58 on August 15, and the competing depth figures of 10, 20 and 35 km.

  39. Version 115 Aug 2026, 01:54

    First published.

  40. Version 115 Aug 2026, 00:54

    First published.

  41. Version 115 Aug 2026, 01:14

    First published.

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