Volcanoes
The Earth's furnace breaking through — the eruptions, from Vesuvius and Krakatoa to Pinatubo and beyond, that buried cities and darkened the sky.
Part of Natural Disasters
75 moments in this segment.
- — The Minoan (Thera) eruption. Around 1600 BC the volcano of Thera (Santorini) erupted catastrophically, devastating Minoan civilisation and possibly inspiring the Atlantis legend.
- — The eruption of Vesuvius, 79 AD. Mount Vesuvius buried Pompeii and Herculaneum under ash and pyroclastic flow, freezing a Roman city in time for two thousand years.
- — The Hatepe eruption of Taupō. New Zealand's Lake Taupō produced one of the most violent eruptions of the last 5,000 years around 232 AD.
- — The Ilopango eruption. A vast eruption in what is now El Salvador around 431 AD may have darkened skies worldwide and disrupted the Maya.
- — The Eldgjá eruption. Iceland's Eldgjá fissure produced the largest lava flood in recorded history around 939, chilling the medieval world.
- — The Millennium eruption of Paektu. One of the largest eruptions of the last two thousand years blew apart Changbaishan / Paektu on the China-Korea border around 946.
- — The Samalas eruption. The largest eruption of the last millennium — Samalas in Indonesia in 1257 — caused a global volcanic winter.
- — The Kuwae eruption. A vast eruption in Vanuatu around 1452 blew the island of Kuwae apart and cooled the globe.
- — The Huaynaputina eruption. Peru's Huaynaputina produced South America's largest historic eruption, cooling the globe and triggering famine.
- — The 1631 eruption of Vesuvius. The most destructive eruption of Vesuvius since Roman times killed thousands around Naples in 1631.
- — The 1669 eruption of Mount Etna. Etna's largest historical eruption sent lava into the Sicilian city of Catania.
- — The 1783 Laki eruption. Iceland's Laki fissure erupted for months, poisoning livestock and crops and causing a famine that killed a fifth of Iceland's people.
- — The 1792 Mount Unzen disaster. A volcanic collapse and tsunami at Mount Unzen killed about 15,000 — Japan's deadliest volcanic disaster.
- — The 1815 eruption of Tambora. The most powerful eruption in recorded history threw so much ash into the sky it caused 1816's 'Year Without a Summer' worldwide.
- — The 1822 Galunggung eruption. Java's Galunggung erupted with deadly lahars that killed over 4,000.
- — The 1877 Cotopaxi eruption. An eruption of Ecuador's Cotopaxi sent lahars racing over 100 km down its valleys in 1877.
- — The 1883 eruption of Krakatoa. Krakatoa exploded with a sound heard 4,800 km away, generating tsunamis that killed over 36,000 and cooling the whole planet.
- — The 1888 Mount Bandai eruption. A sudden collapse of Japan's Mount Bandai buried villages and killed nearly 500 in 1888.
- — The 1928 Etna eruption. An eruption of Mount Etna destroyed the town of Mascali in 1928, the only town lost to Etna in modern times.
- — The birth of Parícutin. A volcano burst out of a Mexican cornfield in 1943 and grew before farmers' eyes, one of the great geological events of the century.
- — The birth of Surtsey. A new island, Surtsey, rose from the sea off Iceland in 1963 in a spectacular undersea eruption.
- — The 1965 Taal eruption. A violent eruption of the Philippines' Taal volcano killed hundreds on its lake island.
- — The Heimaey eruption. An eruption on Iceland's Heimaey island in 1973 buried a fishing town, and residents pumped seawater to stop the lava.
- — The 2000 Mount Usu eruption. An eruption of Hokkaido's Mount Usu was predicted in time to evacuate thousands, a rare forecasting success.
- — The 2002 Reventador eruption. Ecuador's Reventador volcano erupted violently in 2002, dusting Quito in ash.
- — The Alaska volcano eruptions. Alaska's Aleutian arc — Augustine, Redoubt, Bogoslof — erupts often, threatening aviation across the North Pacific.
- — The 2008 Chaitén eruption. A dormant Chilean volcano erupted without warning in 2008, forcing the evacuation of a whole town.
- — Eyjafjallajökull grounds Europe. An eruption under an Icelandic glacier sent ash across Europe, grounding air travel for a week — modern civilisation halted by a volcano.
- — The 2010 Merapi eruption. Indonesia's Mount Merapi erupted violently, killing over 350 including its guardian 'gatekeeper'.
- — Iceland's waiting volcanoes. Iceland sits on a rift of restless volcanoes — Katla, Grímsvötn, Bárðarbunga — whose eruptions can ground world aviation.
- — The 2011 Puyehue eruption. Chile's Puyehue-Cordón Caulle erupted in 2011, grounding flights across the southern hemisphere.
- — The 2011 Nabro eruption. A little-known volcano on the Eritrea–Ethiopia border erupted in 2011, one of the largest of the decade.
- — The Mount Ontake eruption. A sudden steam eruption of Japan's Mount Ontake killed 63 hikers on a clear autumn day, filmed as it happened.
- — The 2015 Calbuco eruption. Chile's Calbuco volcano erupted spectacularly after decades of dormancy, its ash lit by lightning.
- — The 1968 Arenal eruption. Costa Rica's Arenal roared back to life in 1968 after centuries of quiet, burying villages.
- — The Mount Sinabung eruptions. After centuries dormant, Indonesia's Sinabung roared back to life in the 2010s with deadly pyroclastic flows.
- — The Lake Nyos disaster. A cloud of carbon dioxide erupted from Cameroon's Lake Nyos and silently suffocated over 1,700 people and their livestock.
- — The 2002 Nyiragongo eruption. Lava from Mount Nyiragongo flowed into the city of Goma, DR Congo, destroying much of it and displacing hundreds of thousands.
- — The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. Mount St. Helens blew out its entire north flank in the most famous eruption in U.S. history, flattening 600 square km of forest.
- — The 1963 Mount Agung eruption. An eruption of Bali's sacred Mount Agung killed over 1,000 and cooled the global climate.
- — The 2018 Kīlauea eruption. Hawaii's Kīlauea sent lava fountains and rivers through neighbourhoods on the Big Island for months.
- — The 2018 Fuego eruption. Guatemala's Volcán de Fuego erupted with deadly pyroclastic flows that buried villages, killing around 200.
- — The destruction of Pompeii. Vesuvius buried Pompeii and Herculaneum under ash and pyroclastic flows in 79 AD, freezing a Roman city in time.
- — The 1362 Öræfajökull eruption. Iceland's largest explosive eruption of historic times destroyed a whole district in 1362.
- — The Manam Island eruption. An eruption of Papua New Guinea's Manam volcano forced the evacuation of the whole island.
- — The Soufrière Hills eruption. Montserrat's Soufrière Hills began erupting, burying the capital Plymouth and rendering half the island uninhabitable.
- — The 1902 eruption of Mont Pelée. A pyroclastic flow from Mont Pelée destroyed the city of Saint-Pierre, Martinique, killing about 28,000 in minutes.
- — Stromboli's paroxysms. Italy's Stromboli, in near-constant eruption for millennia, periodically erupts violently over the Tyrrhenian Sea.
- — The 2019 Whakaari / White Island eruption. New Zealand's White Island volcano erupted while tourists stood on it, killing 22.
- — The 1912 Novarupta eruption. The largest eruption of the 20th century, in Alaska, created the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes.
- — The 1986 Izu Ōshima eruption. An eruption of Japan's Izu Ōshima volcano forced the evacuation of the island's entire population by sea.
- — The 2021 Etna paroxysms. Mount Etna put on a months-long fireworks show of lava fountains in 2021, dusting Sicily in ash.
- — The Fagradalsfjall eruptions. After 800 years, Iceland's Reykjanes peninsula reawakened, drawing crowds to glowing lava fields near Reykjavik.
- — The 2021 Nyiragongo eruption. Congo's Nyiragongo erupted without warning, sending lava into the outskirts of the city of Goma.
- — The 1919 Kelud eruption. An eruption of Java's Kelud volcano blasted out its crater lake, sending lahars that killed over 5,000.
- — Nevado del Ruiz eruption. The eruption of Colombia's Nevado del Ruiz melted its glacier and buried Armero, killing 23,000.
- — The 2021 La Palma eruption. The Cumbre Vieja volcano erupted for months on La Palma in the Canary Islands, its lava destroying thousands of homes.
- — The 2021 Semeru eruption. Java's Semeru erupted with pyroclastic flows and lahars that buried villages, killing over 50.
- — The 1902 Santa María eruption. One of the largest eruptions of the 20th century struck Guatemala, killing thousands.
- — The Hunga Tonga eruption. An undersea volcano near Tonga produced the most powerful explosion in over a century and a global pressure wave.
- — The 2023 Shiveluch eruption. Russia's Kamchatka volcano Shiveluch erupted in 2023, burying villages in the deepest ashfall in decades.
- — The Armero tragedy. Melting ice from an eruption of Nevado del Ruiz sent lahars into Armero, Colombia, killing 23,000 — most famously the girl Omayra Sánchez.
- — The 2023 Marapi eruption. A sudden eruption of Indonesia's Marapi volcano in 2023 killed climbers on its slopes.
- — The Grindavík eruptions. Eruptions on Iceland's Reykjanes peninsula from late 2023 forced the evacuation of the town of Grindavík.
- — The 2024 Ruang eruption. Indonesia's Ruang volcano erupted explosively in 2024, forcing mass evacuations and closing airports.
- — The 2024 Kanlaon eruption. The Philippines' Kanlaon volcano erupted explosively in 2024, dusting towns and forcing evacuations.
- — The 1993 Galeras eruption. Colombia's Galeras erupted while scientists stood in its crater, killing nine of them.
- — The 1951 Mount Lamington eruption. A pyroclastic eruption of Papua New Guinea's Mount Lamington killed about 3,000 in 1951.
- — Diverting the lava of Etna. In 1992 engineers used explosives and barriers to divert Mount Etna's lava away from the town of Zafferana.
- — The abandonment of Plymouth. Repeated eruptions of the Soufrière Hills buried Montserrat's capital Plymouth, a modern Pompeii.
- — The 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo. The second-largest eruption of the 20th century, Pinatubo in the Philippines cooled global temperatures by half a degree for two years.
- — The 1911 Taal eruption. A violent eruption of the Philippines' Taal volcano in 1911 killed over 1,300.
- — The El Chichón eruption. A surprise eruption of Mexico's El Chichón killed some 2,000 and injected a cooling haze worldwide.
- — The 1994 Rabaul eruption. Twin eruptions buried much of the town of Rabaul in Papua New Guinea in 1994.
- — The 1930 Merapi eruption. An eruption of Java's Merapi volcano in 1930 sent pyroclastic flows that killed some 1,300.
