Human consequences
The kingdoms of Tambora and Pekat are wiped out; famine strikes Sumbawa and Lombok.
Home › All disasters › Eruption of Mount Tambora
VolcanoEruption of Mount Tambora
71,000Deaths
Not quantifiedDisplaced / homeless
Not quantifiedEstimated cost
- Including some 60,000 deaths from famine and disease in the following months (estimate).
The most powerful eruption in recorded history (Volcanic Explosivity Index 7). The volcano loses about 1,400 m of height and blasts sulphur aerosols into the stratosphere.
Consequences
Environmental consequences
1816 becomes the “Year Without a Summer”: snow in June in New England, frozen harvests in Europe.
Economic consequences
Grain prices soar in Europe and North America.
Political consequences
Food riots and emigration to the American West. During that icy summer on the shores of Lake Geneva, Mary Shelley conceives Frankenstein.
Climate effects
- Europe · “Year Without a Summer” 1816
- New England · frosts in midsummer 1816
Further reading
Similar disasters
- Eruption of KrakatoaVolcano · Indonesia (Dutch East Indies)1883
- Laki eruptionVolcano · Iceland1783 – 1784
- Eruption of Mount PinatuboVolcano · Philippines1991
- Eruption of Mount PeléeVolcano · France1902
In the rankings : The deadliest volcanic eruptions No. 1
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