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Volcano Lamington in Papua New Guinea

Volcanoes in Papua New Guinea

With 14 volcanoes in Papua New Guinea there have been a total of 33 significant eruptions over the past 1,500 years. Over 5,400 people were killed. The worst volcanic eruption in terms of deaths, destroyed houses and financial damages happened on 01/01/1660 with the eruption of "Long Island". Here, 2000 people died.

Out of 44 volcanos in Papua New Guinea, 21 are considered still active.

Other natural hazards in Papua New Guinea:
Earthquake
Tsunamis
Cyclones
The biggest earthquakes in recent times


Back to overview: Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, which stretches for about 40,000 km around the Pacific Ocean. Here the tectonic plate of the Pacific collides with several surrounding continental plates and seismic tremors occur again and again. Most of the world's volcanic eruptions, which are also the most severe, occur in this zone.

Significant volcanic eruptions in Papua New Guinea in the last 1500 years

Volcano Lamington in Papua New GuineaThe following list shows all volcanic eruptions of the last 1,500 years with significant damage. The column "VEI" stands for the volcano explosivity index, which represents the strength of the eruption from a geological point of view. This takes into account the height and volume of the rocks ejected. The scale ranges from 0-8, with the severity of the eruption increasing tenfold with each value. For example, a VEI of 1 means that the volcano throws lava and rock masses of 100,000 to 1 million cubic meters up to 1 kilometer high. From VEI 8, a volcano is considered a super volcano. Here, more than 1,000 cubic kilometers of tephra are thrown to altitudes of more than 25 kilometers.

The highest explosivity index in Papua New Guinea reached in the review period was VEI 6 in 1660. The volcano Long Island threw tephramasses of at least 10 cubic kilometers over 25 kilometers high. Such an intensity is normally only achieved every 100 years.

EruptionVolcanoVEIDeathsTotal damage
06/28/2019Manam40
06/26/2019Ulawun00
01/07/2019Manam40
08/25/2018Manam40
07/31/2015Manam20
07/31/2015Manam20
03/01/2007Manam44
01/27/2005Manam41
10/24/2004Manam45
12/03/1996Manam313
09/19/1994Rabaul34
06/24/1990Rabaul06
03/08/1979Karkar22
10/17/1974Ritter Island10
10/09/1972Ritter Island10
08/03/1954Bam20
01/21/1951Lamington42942
05/29/1937Rabaul4507
01/18/1914Pago30
01/01/1899Manam22
06/17/1895Karkar21
01/01/1895Dakataua20
01/01/1890Victory20
03/13/1888Ritter Island30
12/01/1883Bagana30
01/01/1878Rabaul31
01/01/1850Rabaul20
01/01/1825Balbi00
01/01/1660Long Island62000
01/01/1580Billy Mitchell60
01/01/0800Dakataua60
01/01/0710Pago60
01/01/0540Rabaul60


All volcanoes in Papua New Guinea

VolcanoElevationStatusLast eruption
Ambitle562 mSolfatara stage
Baluan246 mSolfatara stage
Bam600 mActive08/03/1954
Bangum1052 mSolfatara stage
Benda320 mActive
Bola1164 mSolfatara stage
Day-Day200 mActive
Dobu274 mSolfatara stage
Doma Peakes3567 mSolfatara stage
Galloseulo1173 mSolfatara stage
Garbuna564 mSolfatara stage
Garove350 mSolfatara stage
Garua Harbour30 mSolfatara stage
Goropu540 mActive
Ielia3385 mSolfatara stage
Jamelele10 mSolfatara stage
Kadovar365 mActive
Kadovar365 mActive
Karkar1500 mActive03/08/1979
Krummel869 mSolfatara stage
Langila1189 mActive
Lihir817 mSolfatara stage
Lolobau932 mActive
Loloru1894 mSolfatara stage
Long Island320 mActive01/01/1660
Lou Island281 mSolfatara stage
Manam1830 mActive06/28/2019
Mt.Bagana1702 mActive
Mt.Balbi2593 mSolfatara stage
Mt.Bamus2248 mSolfatara stage
Mt.Lamington1780 mActive
Mt.Ulawun2300 mActive
Mt.Victory1928 mActive
Musa808 mSolfatara stage
Narage315 mActive
Pago724 mActive01/18/1914
Rabaul226 mActive09/19/1994
Ritter107 mActive
Sakar998 mSolfatara stage
Talo1390 mSolfatara stage
Tuluman40 mActive
Ulawun2334 mActive06/26/2019
Walo15 mSolfatara stage
Welker897 mSolfatara stage



These statistics are based on datas from the Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program (GVP), and the Significant Volcanic Eruptions Database of the National Geophysical Data Center (NOAA) / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS) doi:10.7289/V5JW8BSH. Several data have been summarized and translated.
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