Top 10 Deadliest Volcanoes in the world

Below are Top 10 list of Deadliest Volcanoes Ever Recorded based on data in Volcanic Hazards: A Sourcebook on the Effects of Eruptions by Russell J. Blong (Academic Press, 1984).

1. Mt. Tambora, Indonesia | Year : 1815 | Deaths :  92,000 |  VEI : 7

The explosion of Mount Tambora is the largest ever recorded by humans, ranking a 7 ( super-colossal ) on the Volcanic Explosivity Index, the second-highest rating in the index and largest known eruption in historic times. The volcano, which is still active, is one of the tallest peaks in the Indonesian archipelago.
The eruption reached its peak in April 1815, when it exploded so loudly that it was heard on Sumatra Island, more than 1,200 miles (1,930 km) away. The death toll from the eruption was estimated at 92,000 people, and clouds of heavy ash descended on many far-away islands.

Mt. Tambora, Sumbawa Island, Indonesia.
Caldera view Mt. Tambora, Sumbawa Island, Indonesia. by Jialiang Gao
 

2. Mt. Krakatau, Indonesia  | Year : 1883 | Deaths :  36,417 |  VEI : 6

The rumblings that preceded the final eruption of Krakatau (also misspelled Krakatoa) in the weeks and months of the summer of 1883 finally climaxed with a massive explosion on April 26-27. The explosive eruption of this stratovolcano, situated along a volcanic island arc at the subduction zone of the Indo-Australian plate, ejected huge amounts of rock, ash and pumice and was heard thousands of miles away.
The explosion also created a tsunami, whose maximum wave heights reached 140 feet (40 meters) and killed about 36,000 people. Tidal gauges more than 7,000 miles (11,000 km) away on the Arabian Peninsula even registered the increase in wave heights.
While the island that once hosted Krakatau was completely destroyed in the eruption, new eruptions beginning in December 1927 built the Anak Krakatau ("Child of Krakatau") cone in the center of the caldera produced by the 1883 eruption. Anak Krakatau sporadically comes to life, building a new island in the shadow of its parent.

Mt. Anak Krakatau, Sunda Straits, Indonesia. by Paul Hessels
 

3. Mt. Pelee, Martinique  | Year : 1902 | Deaths :  29,025 |  VEI : 4

Mount Pelée is famous for its 1902 eruption and the destruction that resulted, recorded as the worst volcanic disaster of the 20th century. The eruption killed about 30,000 people caused by pyroclastic flows and occurred in the city of Saint-Pierre, which at that time was the largest city on the island.
Pyroclastic flows completely destroyed St. Pierre, a town of 30,000 people, within minutes of the eruption.

 Mt. Pelee, Martinique. PD
 

4. Mt. Ruiz, Colombia  | Year : 1985 | Deaths :  25,000 |  VEI : 3

Nevado del Ruiz is a volcano in Colombia, about 129 kilometers west of the capital city Bogotá. This stratovolcano composed many layers of lava alternating with pyroclastic rocks and hardened volcanic ash. Mount Ruiz has been active for about two million years, since the early Pleistocene or late Pliocene.
On November 13, 1985, a small eruption produced an enormous lahar that buried and destroyed the town of Armero in Tolima, causing an estimated 25,000 deaths. This event later became known as the Armero tragedy—the deadliest lahar in recorded history. Similar but less deadly incidents occurred in 1595 and 1845, consisting of a small explosive eruption followed by a large lahar.
 
Mt. Ruiz, Colombia. PD
 


5. Mt. Unzen, Japan  | Year : 1792 | Deaths :  14,300 |  VEI : 3

Mount Unzen is located close to Shimabara city in Nagasaki Prefecture. It is found on the southernmost main island in Japan called Kyushu Island.
In 1792, the collapse of one of its several lava domes triggered a mega tsunami that killed about 15,000 people in Japan’s worst volcanic related disaster. Mount Unzen was most recently active from 1990 to 1995, and a large eruption in 1991 generated a pyroclastic flow that killed 43 people.

Mt. Unzen, Japan.
 

6. Mt. Laki, Iceland  | Year : 1783 | Deaths :  9,350 |  VEI : 6

Mount Laki or Lakagígar is a volcanic fissure in the south of Iceland, not far from the canyon of Eldgjá and the small village Kirkjubæjarklaustur.
It erupted over an eight-month period between 1783 and 1784 from the Laki fissure and the adjoining Grímsvötn volcano, pouring out an estimated 14 km3 of basalt lava and clouds of poisonous hydrofluoric acid and sulfur dioxide compounds that killed more than 50% of Iceland's livestock population, leading to a famine that killed approximately 25% of the island's human population.
The Mount Laki eruption and its aftermath caused temperatures dropped globally, as sulfur dioxide was spewed into the Northern Hemisphere. This caused crop failures in Europe and may have caused droughts in India. The eruption indirectly has been estimated to have killed more than six million people globally.

Mt. Laki, Iceland. by Chmee2
 

7. Mt. Kelud, Indonesia  | Year : 1919 | Deaths :  5,100 |  VEI : 5

Mount Kelud is a volcano located in East Java, Indonesia. Mount Kelud is known for huge explosive eruptions throughout its history. More than 30 eruptions have occurred since 1000 AD.
In 1919, an eruption at Kelud killed an estimated 5,000 people, mostly through hot lahars. More recent eruptions in 1951, 1966, and 1990 have altogether killed another 250 people. It last erupted on February 13, 2014.

Mt. Kelud, East Java, Indonesia. © blog888
 

8. Mt. Galunggung, Indonesia  | Year : 1882 | Deaths :  4,100 |  VEI : 5

Mount Galunggung is an active stratovolcano with an altitude of 2,167 meters above sea level, located about 17 km from city of Tasikmalaya, West Java, Indonesia. Galunggung recorded erupted in 1882, the eruption produces very hot of reddish sand rain, fine ash, hot clouds and lava. The eruption killed an estimated 4,000 peoples and destroyed 114 villages, with damage to land to the east south as far as 40 km from the summit of the mountain.

Mt. Galungung, West Java, Indonesia. © blog888
 

9. Mt. Vesuvius, Italy  | Year : 1631 | Deaths :  3,500 |  VEI : 6

Mount Vesuvius is a stratovolcano in the particular Gulf of Naples, Italy, about 9 kilometres east of Naples. Mount Vesuvius is one of the volcanoes which form the Campanian volcanic arc.
This volcano is best known for it is eruption in AD 79 that triggered the burying and destruction on the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The eruption ejected any cloud of stones, ash and fumes to 33 km height, spewing molten rock and pulverized pumice at the rate of 1. 5 million tons per second, ultimately releasing a great number of thousand times the particular thermal energy released by the Hiroshima bombing. Nearly 16,000 people died due to hydrothermal pyroclastic streams.

Mt. Vesuvius, Italy. by Pastorius
 

10. Mt. Papandayan, Indonesia  | Year : 1772 | Deaths :  2,957 |  VEI : 3

Mount Papandayan is a large composite volcano. It is constructed of alternating layers of lava and ash, and other fragmental volcanic rock debris formed by explosive eruptions over the past several hundred years.Mount Papandayan located in Garut, West Java, Indonesia.
Papandayan eruption was recorded several times. Among them in 1773, 1923, 1942, 1993, and 2003. Major eruption occurred in 1772 which destroyed at least 40 villages and killing about 2951 people.

Mt. Papandayan, West Java, Indonesia. by Uprising

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