The Most Infamous Volcano Eruptions In World History

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The Most Infamous Volcano Eruptions In History

By Joe Burgett - July 15, 2022

Lakagigar (Laki) Caldera

Estimated Date: June 1783 to February 1784
Location: Iceland
VEI Rating: 7

The Lakigigar volcano is actually a fissure, and is often referred to as the “Laki Fissure.” From June 1783 to February 1784, Laki erupted violently and was joined by the nearby Grímsvötn volcano soon into its eruption. In total, 42 billion metric tons of basalt lava and clouds of poisonous hydrofluoric acid and sulfur dioxide contaminated not only the soil but a lot of the breathable air. At least 50% of all Icelandic livestock died from the event, and soon after, most of the crops in Iceland were destroyed entirely. The land remained so contaminated from this that crops could not be grown in the territory for many years after.

Of course, this led to a mass famine that would go on to kill around 25% of the human population in Iceland at the time. This would have been between 9,000 to 9,350 people in that time period. While the aftermath for Icelantic soil and its atmosphere was poor, the world felt this too. Global temperatures dropped due to the 120 million metric tons of sulfur dioxide that flowed into the Northern Hemisphere. European crops were impacted by this drastically, and both Northern Africa and India experienced major droughts due to this too. Volcano eruptions like what we saw with Laki was on the tip of the iceberg for Iceland, sadly.

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Mount Unzen

Estimated Date: 1792
Location: Japan
VEI Rating: 5

Iceland was not the only nation to experience a major eruption in the late 1700s. In fact, Mount Unzen’s eruption just a few years later was Japan’s deadliest volcano in its long history. The eruption led to a mass explosion that collapsed the dome of the volcano itself. That resulted in a giant landslide that buried the entire city of Shimabara before flowing into the ocean. While some might feel the loss of the city was bad enough for this to be a horrific eruption, this was just where Mount Unzen’s eruption and its aftermath began. Many volcano eruptions never went with just the eruption itself.

The eruption and its landslide triggered a tsunami that ended up being over 50 feet high. All in all, the event led to the death of an estimated 15,000 people. Of course, to the shock of no one, agriculture in the region was impacted heavily. The fish population in the region naturally decreased too, putting many fishermen who survived this event out of work for a while. The cost of the damages at that time was around 17.4 billion yen, which is about $150 million. If we account for inflation in 2022, that same level of impact would be nearly $5 billion dollars worth of damage.

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Mount St. Helens

Estimated Date: May 18, 1980
Location: Washington, United States
VEI Rating: 5

While this stratovolcano has erupted several times, the eruption in May 1980 is the deadliest and most destructive in U.S. history. The eruption resulted in a major debris avalanche, which triggered a 5.1-level earthquake that did destruction on its own. The mountain’s summit even reduced a lot. It was as high as 9,677 feet but the eruption cut it down to 8,363 feet. It even left behind a one-mile crater shaped like a horseshoe. Ecosystems near the volcano were devasted by the eruption, which seems obvious but the ash actually helped nearby aquatic ecosystems tremendously.

The eruption leveled a lot of things before the earthquake and other events took place. Around 200 homes, 47 bridges, 185 miles of highway, and 15 miles of railway were destroyed. This resulted in the loss of 57 human lives as well. Economically, this event resulted in several millions of dollars worth of repairs. Interestingly, the volcano still remains active and has experienced volcanic activity consistently since 2008. Yet Mount St. Helens remained one of the most popular hiking spots in the United States and it is climbed all year long by both residents and visitors. Apparently, possible volcano eruptions do not scare these people away!

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Nevado del Ruiz Volcano

Estimated Date: November 3, 1985
Location: Columbia
VEI Rating: 1 to 3

The Nevado del Ruiz volcano has had some massive eruptions over the years, but likely the most notable occurred in 1985. In November, it only took a small eruption to do an enormous amount of damage. Essentially, the volcano did not need a major eruption because it was capable of producing a ton of mudflows without much effort. That is likely due to the local glaciers. In fact, this is essentially what led to a massive loss of life in the local area. Now known as the Armero tragedy, the town of Armero in Tolima was hit by the aforementioned mudflow.

The result of this was that the entire town was destroyed. Sadly, an estimated total of 25,000 people died during the event. It is the deadliest eruption in Columbian history and among the deadliest in South American history today. The volcano is actually part of the Los Nevados National Park where visitors drop by throughout the year. It seems that many did not learn their lesson about building near Nevado del Ruiz as there are many villages and towns close by. Now covered by large glaciers, if it were to go off, it could impact or kill up to 500,000 people from the mudflow potential alone.

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Mount Tambora

Estimated Date: April 1815
Location: Sumbawa, Indonesia
VEI Rating: 7

Mount Tambora has experienced some major eruptions in its long history. However, in 1815 it managed to be so destructive that it ended more human lives than perhaps any other volcano directly in history. Today, we also know it to be the most powerful volcanic eruption since humans have been on the planet. Rated a 7 by the Volcanic Explosivity Index, it sent around 38 to 51 cubic miles of volcanic material into the atmosphere. Going into April 1815, the magma chamber had been drained by previous eruptions. This allowed the volcano to essentially become dormant…but it was refilling that entire time.

Suddenly, an explosive eruption took place that could be heard as far as Sumatra Island 1,200 miles away. Heavy volcanic ash rained down and could be seen by all nearby islands within hundreds of miles. The direct eruption was estimated to have killed around 71,000 people. However, due to its impact on the global climate, 1816 became the “year without a summer.” North American and European temperatures and weather led to the death of livestock and crops. That led to an enormous famine, which was the worst of the century. Thus, you could say hundreds of thousands were impacted and any of their deaths were due to the eruption too.

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Mount Vesuvius

Estimated Date: 79 CE
Location: Italy
VEI Rating: 5

Perhaps the most famous of all volcanic eruptions in history is the 79 CE eruption of Mount Vesuvius. This is most certainly due to its location and the historians that were either present or close to the event. Everyone knows that the Roman city of Pompeii was leveled by the eruption. Later archeologists would uncover a lot of major Roman artifacts from the location that were all in pristine condition due to the eruption. However, Pompeii was only one of the cities impacted. Herculaneum, Oplontis, and Stabiae among other settlements were all leveled too.

The eruption sent out a cloud of stones, ashes, and volcanic gases as far as 21 miles. This includes erupting molten rock and pulverizing pumice hundreds of miles per hour. At least 1,000 people died in the eruption, but it is widely assumed many more lost their lives. The only surviving eyewitness account actually comes from historian Pliny the Elder’s nephew and Roman Magistrate Pliny the Younger, as well as Tacitus. Vesuvius has erupted many more times since 79 CE, but this will forever be the most notable eruption. Volcano eruptions do not get more infamous than Vesuvius.

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Where do we Find this Stuff? Here Are Our Sources:

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. National Park Service

National Centre For Atmospheric Sciences

New Zealand Government

Harvard University

Oregan State University

Smithsonian Institution – Global Volcanism Program

Global Alliance of National Parks

National Geographic