Earthquakes and Tsunamis in Lombok: What Travellers Should Know Since 2018

4 October 2026

“I heard Lombok had a big earthquake in 2018 — is it really okay to go now?” “If I’m staying somewhere close to the sea and a tsunami warning goes out, what should I actually do?” Once people start looking into a trip to Lombok or Sekotong, these are worries that come up often.

The short answer: as of September 2026, Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs — whose travel advisories are widely used as one reference point — rates Lombok at the same lowest tier (“Level 1: exercise normal precautions”) as most of Indonesia, and this isn’t a destination you need to avoid. That said, the underlying earthquake and tsunami risk hasn’t disappeared, and since you’ll be staying somewhere near the coast, it’s worth knowing some basic preparedness.

This article draws together the scale and damage of the earthquakes that actually struck Lombok between July and August 2018, what’s happened since, the basics of why Indonesia experiences earthquakes and tsunamis, and practical preparedness for travellers — based only on what could be directly verified from official agencies, Wikipedia and local news reports. Figures vary by source, so we use “around” and “roughly” throughout, and we say plainly where something couldn’t be confirmed.

Detailed, up-to-date information on the recovery itself, or on current conditions in the areas that were hit hardest, was limited among the primary sources we could find as of September 2026. We’ve avoided both exaggerating the risk and flatly declaring everything “back to normal” — sticking only to what could be verified.

This article is written for anyone considering a trip to Lombok — particularly the southwest, around Sekotong — who wants a reasonably accurate understanding of the earthquake and tsunami risk before deciding. It starts from the basics, whether or not you’re already used to earthquakes.

Information as of September 2026

What this article covers

✓The scale and damage of the earthquakes that struck Lombok in July–August 2018
✓What’s known about the situation since, and current travel-advisory levels, as of September 2026
✓The basics of why earthquakes and tsunamis happen around Lombok
✓What to do if you feel shaking, the BMKG warning app, and other preparedness steps for travellers
✓Sekotong’s terrain, and what to check when choosing where to stay

Bottom line

As of September 2026, Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs travel-advisory site rates Lombok (West Nusa Tenggara) at the same “Level 1: exercise normal precautions” as most of Indonesia — it isn’t a region you should avoid travelling to. At the same time, it’s a fact that a series of magnitude 6–7 earthquakes struck the island between July and August 2018, killing more than 300 people and causing widespread damage to housing. For anyone staying somewhere close to the sea, a realistic level of preparedness means knowing your accommodation’s evacuation routes and understanding the basic principle: if you feel strong shaking, head for higher ground without waiting for an official warning.

TOC

What happened in Lombok in July–August 2018

On the morning of 29 July 2018, a magnitude 6.4 (Mw) earthquake struck Lombok, killing 20 people. This was the start of a series of quakes, and a larger one followed about a week later, on 5 August.

The 5 August earthquake struck at around 7:46pm local time. Its magnitude is put at 6.9 (Mw) by the US Geological Survey (USGS) and at 7.0 by Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG). Depth estimates also differ between agencies: USGS put it at 34km, BMKG at 15km.

The epicentre lay on the Flores Back-Arc Thrust, a shallow reverse fault running beneath the north side of Lombok, part of the boundary where the Australian Plate is being pushed beneath the Sunda Plate.

The damage was heaviest in North Lombok Regency, where more than 80% of buildings are reported to have been damaged or destroyed. Some 42,239 homes and 458 schools were affected, and more than 410,000 people were displaced. Economic losses were initially estimated at around 5 trillion rupiah, later revised to roughly 8.8 trillion rupiah (about US$607 million), according to the English-language Wikipedia.

A further earthquake struck on 19 August. Across the string of quakes that August, the death toll passed 500, with the English-language Wikipedia citing a figure of 563.

Diagram: Deaths in the 2018 Lombok earthquakes

Diagram note: figures from the English-language Wikipedia. August includes the quakes on the 5th and 19th, among others.

Immediately after the 5 August quake, BMKG issued a tsunami warning, anticipating waves of up to around 50cm. Actual observed wave heights stayed at a few tens of centimetres or less at most locations (13.5cm at Karang, for example), though a wave of around 2m was recorded at Kayangan. The warning was later lifted, but panicked evacuations along the coast were recorded in the immediate aftermath.

How Lombok is viewed today, from an earthquake standpoint

Checking Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs travel-advisory list as of September 2026, West Nusa Tenggara (which includes Lombok) is not among the regions under “Level 2,” which calls for travellers to reconsider their trip. Level 2 currently applies only to Central Papua and Highland Papua; the rest of Indonesia — including the capital Jakarta and Bali — sits at the same “Level 1: exercise normal precautions” as Lombok. It’s also worth checking your own country’s current travel advisory for Indonesia before you go.

Local news reports from around February 2019 — roughly six months after the earthquakes — said about 90% of hotels and restaurants in the affected areas had completed repairs and reopened. That said, this is 2019-era information, and as of writing in September 2026 we couldn’t find primary sources confirming the detailed state of recovery today (such as the rate of housing reconstruction, or how much it varies by area). We’ve avoided a flat claim that everything is “fully back to normal,” and stuck to what we could verify.

None of this means earthquakes themselves are now off the table. Lombok, like the rest of Indonesia, sits where several tectonic plates meet, and that hasn’t changed — the next section lays out the basics of why.

Why earthquakes and tsunamis happen around Lombok

Indonesia sits at the meeting point of several tectonic plates — the Australian, Eurasian (Sunda) and Pacific plates among them — making it one of the more earthquake-prone countries in the world. Near Lombok, the oceanic Australian Plate is being pushed beneath the Sunda Plate, and earthquakes happen when the accumulated strain along that boundary suddenly releases. The 2018 quakes are attributed to movement along a shallow reverse fault on the island’s north side, the Flores Back-Arc Thrust.

A tsunami isn’t caused by the earthquake itself, but by the sudden deformation of the seabed or coastal terrain during a quake, which pushes up a volume of seawater. Not every earthquake triggers a tsunami, but one becomes more likely when the epicentre is shallow and close to the coast. In the 5 August 2018 quake, BMKG issued a warning for waves of up to roughly 50cm, and observed waves at various locations ranged from a few tens of centimetres up to around 2m.

Preparedness for travellers

You don’t need any special preparation to travel here, but since you’ll be staying somewhere close to the sea, there’s a minimum level of preparedness worth knowing. The first step: once you check in, take a moment to find the evacuation route from your room and the property, and identify the nearest high ground or upper floor you could reach on foot. It’s also worth reading up on general safety points before you go, covered separately in our guide to safety in Lombok, so you have it in mind before you arrive.

If you feel strong shaking — or shaking that’s mild but goes on for a while — and you’re on the coast or in a low-lying area, the basic principle shared across tsunami-evacuation guidance worldwide is: move toward higher ground as far as you’re able, without waiting for an official tsunami warning to be issued. It helps to start assessing your surroundings while the shaking is still happening, rather than waiting until it stops and then scrambling.

Diagram: What to do if you feel strong shaking

Diagram note: the basic principle shared across tsunami-evacuation guidance worldwide.

BMKG, Indonesia’s meteorology and geophysics agency, runs an earthquake and tsunami early-warning system called InaTEWS, publishing information on quakes of magnitude 5 and above, and tsunami warnings, on its official site. Its official app, “WRS-BMKG,” can also send notifications tailored to a region and magnitude. It’s available in English, so installing it before you travel gives you a way to follow local information close to the source.

It’s also worth checking whether your own country’s foreign ministry or embassy offers a traveller-registration service before you go — many governments do (the UK, Australia, the US and others each run their own). Registering typically takes just a few minutes and means you can be reached, and sent emergency updates, if a major disaster or incident occurs while you’re travelling.

For travel insurance, it’s worth checking before you leave whether your policy covers injury from natural disasters, and emergency evacuation or repatriation costs. Insurance and hospital arrangements are covered in more detail in our guide to hospitals and insurance in Lombok.

Pre-departure checklist

✓Registered your trip with your foreign ministry or embassy, if that service is available
✓Installed BMKG’s official app (WRS-BMKG)
✓Checked that your travel insurance covers injury from natural disasters and emergency evacuation
✓Planned to check your accommodation’s evacuation route and nearest high ground at check-in

What’s worth knowing about Sekotong’s terrain

Southwest Lombok’s Sekotong area is defined by calm bays lined with white-sand beaches, backed by rolling green hills. Most of the coastal villages, hotels and villas sit on the low-lying land along the shore, but head a little inland and the terrain rises into hills fairly quickly. You can read more about the area as a whole in our complete guide to Sekotong.

From a tsunami-evacuation standpoint, this terrain means “moving away from the water” isn’t the only option — “moving up” to higher ground is realistically available too. When choosing where to stay, or when you check in, it’s worth asking staff (or checking a map) which direction and roughly how far you’d need to walk from the coast to reach higher ground — knowing this in advance makes it easier to act calmly if it ever comes to that.

A note from Sekotong

Southwest Lombok, including Sekotong, has coastal flatland sitting close to inland hills. When choosing where to stay, it’s worth checking not just “how far from the sea” but also “how far on foot to higher ground.” Earthquakes and tsunamis also tend to only come to mind once people have half-forgotten about them — but treating pre-trip preparedness as just another item on your checklist, alongside things like weather and how you’re feeling, means you won’t be caught scrambling on the day.

Beyond the earthquake and tsunami risk, there’s a place called Sekotong

Honestly, Lombok — like the rest of Indonesia — sits in an earthquake-prone part of the world, and that risk will never fall to zero. There’s no guarantee a quake on the scale of 2018 won’t happen again, and it’s entirely natural to feel some unease when staying somewhere close to the sea. Getting here also takes a certain amount of effort regardless of where you’re travelling from, which doesn’t change either.

That said, given that Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs travel advisory (as of September 2026) still places Lombok at the same lowest tier as most of Indonesia, and that many travellers’ own home countries also sit in earthquake-prone parts of the world, the realistic takeaway is that earthquake and tsunami risk alone isn’t a reason to rule out Lombok. What matters isn’t going without knowing the risk — it’s knowing it, and taking basic precautions anyway.

Even after taking these precautions into account, if staying somewhere close to the sea still feels like more than you’re comfortable with, this isn’t a place we’d push you toward. But if you understand the basics of preparedness and you’re drawn to the quiet of a fishing village and the sea of the South Gili islands, Sekotong is a genuine option worth considering.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Is it safe to travel to Lombok in 2026?

As of September 2026, Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs travel-advisory site rates Lombok (West Nusa Tenggara) at the same “Level 1: exercise normal precautions” as most of Indonesia — it isn’t designated as a region to avoid. That said, the earthquake risk itself hasn’t gone away, so it’s worth knowing the basic preparedness covered in this article.

Q. What should I do first if I feel shaking?

First, protect yourself from falling objects and wait for the shaking to stop. If you’re on the coast or in a low-lying area and feel strong shaking, or shaking that continues for a while, the basic principle is to move toward higher ground or an upper floor as far as you’re able, without waiting for an official tsunami warning. Follow your accommodation staff’s instructions too.

Q. Should I register my trip with my embassy or foreign ministry?

It’s not compulsory, but where the service exists, registering means you can receive emergency broadcast emails from your consulate and be contacted using the details you provided if a major disaster or incident occurs. It usually takes only a few minutes before you leave, so it’s worth doing if it’s available to you.

Q. Are Sekotong’s guesthouses built to withstand earthquakes?

This isn’t something we can confirm uniformly for every property in this article. If it’s a concern, we’d suggest contacting each place directly before you book. What we cover here is the general approach to evacuation based on the local terrain, and preparedness information from official agencies.

Q. Has tourism in Lombok recovered since the 2018 earthquake?

Local news reports from around February 2019 said about 90% of hotels and restaurants in the affected areas had completed repairs and reopened. We couldn’t find primary sources confirming the detailed state of recovery as of September 2026, so we’ve avoided a definite claim — if it matters to you, we’d recommend checking directly with your accommodation or current local sources.

For what it’s worth, as one business operator’s account from the ground: in a video published on the operating team’s YouTube channel in June 2025, Hiroki Nakamura recalls that the earthquake happened in summer, things had settled somewhat by autumn, and the business was able to reopen, while relief efforts took priority in the immediate aftermath (video). Staff from the same company have also described a period after the earthquake, during the pandemic, when they made a living driving a motorbike taxi (ojek online) after their income dried up (video); a video published in March 2026 mentions that hotels were being sold off cheaply at the time but have since recovered, and that Sekotong’s roads and power lines were subsequently developed under a government-led programme (video). These are individual accounts, and don’t substitute for primary statistics on the overall recovery.

Summary

Between July and August 2018, a series of magnitude 6–7 earthquakes struck Lombok, killing more than 500 people and causing extensive damage to housing and schools. The 5 August quake triggered a tsunami warning too, with waves of around 2m recorded at some locations. The epicentres sat on a shallow reverse fault beneath the island’s north side, against the backdrop of Indonesia sitting on the boundary of several tectonic plates.

As of September 2026, Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs travel advisory places Lombok at the same lowest tier as most of Indonesia — it’s not a destination you need to avoid. At the same time, there are limits to how much detail can be confirmed about the current state of recovery, and the underlying earthquake risk hasn’t disappeared entirely. Checking your accommodation’s evacuation routes, using BMKG’s warning app, registering your trip where possible, and confirming what your travel insurance covers are all realistic, practical steps.

Southwest Lombok, including Sekotong, has coastal flatland sitting close to inland hills. We hope the background and preparedness covered here are useful as you weigh up where to stay.