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The 10 deadliest volcanic eruptions

Pyroclastic flows, tsunamis, mudflows, famines: volcanoes kill in many ways. These are the deadliest eruptions in the atlas.

1. 1

   Eruption of Mount Tambora

   Volcano · 10 April 1815 · Indonesia (Dutch East Indies)

   The most powerful eruption in recorded history (Volcanic Explosivity Index 7).

   ≈ 71,000 deaths

2. 2

   Eruption of Krakatoa

   Volcano · 27 August 1883 · Indonesia (Dutch East Indies)

   A series of explosions blows the island apart; the last one is heard as far away as Rodrigues Island, nearly 4,800 km away.

   36,417 deaths

3. 3

   Eruption of Mount Pelée

   Volcano · 8 May 1902 · France

   A pyroclastic flow rushes down the volcano and wipes out Saint-Pierre, nicknamed the “Little Paris of the Caribbean”, within minutes.

   ≈ 28,000 deaths

4. 4

   Armero tragedy

   Volcano · 13 November 1985 · Colombia

   A moderate eruption of Nevado del Ruiz melts part of its glacier.

   ≈ 23,000 deaths

5. 5

   Laki eruption

   Volcano · 8 June 1783 – February 1784 · Iceland

   For eight months a 27 km fissure pours out about 14 km³ of basaltic lava and colossal amounts of sulphur dioxide and fluorine, which poison pastures and livestock.

   ≈ 9,000 deaths

6. 6

   Eruption of Mount Vesuvius

   Volcano · Autumn 79 (24 August or 24 October) · Italy (Roman Empire)

   Vesuvius sends up an eruption column more than 30 km high, then pyroclastic flows bury Pompeii, Herculaneum, Stabiae and Oplontis.

   ≈ 2,000 deaths

7. 7

   Lake Nyos disaster

   Volcano · 21 August 1986 · Cameroon

   This volcanic crater lake suddenly releases a huge cloud of carbon dioxide built up in its depths.

   1,746 deaths

8. 8

   Eruption of Mount Pinatubo

   Volcano · 15 June 1991 · Philippines

   The second-largest eruption of the 20th century.

   847 deaths

9. 9

   Eruption of Mount St. Helens

   Volcano · 18 May 1980 · United States

   An earthquake triggers the largest landslide ever observed: the volcano’s north flank collapses and unleashes a lateral blast that flattens the forest over some 600 km².

   57 deaths

10. 10

    Hunga Tonga eruption

    Volcano · 15 January 2022 · Tonga

    The explosion of this undersea volcano is the most powerful recorded since Krakatoa.

    6 deaths

The 1792 eruption of Mount Unzen in Japan, which killed about 15,000 people, is not yet in the atlas. Ranking based on the disasters in the Mémoire du Globe atlas, using the most commonly accepted tolls. For older events, the figures are orders of magnitude.

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