Oraefajokull

June 5, 1362 Eruption of Oraefajokull

June 5, 1362 · VEI 5 · 220 deaths

Oraefajokull in Iceland erupted on June 5, 1362 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 5. The eruption killed 220 people.

Where it erupted

Oraefajokull, Iceland, with its other significant eruptions.

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The eruption

Date
June 5, 1362
Volcano
Oraefajokull, stratovolcano
Country
Iceland
Volcanic Explosivity Index
5, very large (eruption column over 25 km)
Killed by
Tephra (ash, bombs, lapilli, steam blasts); Floods (and glacial outburst floods)
Location
64.000° N, 16.650° W

The toll

Deaths
220

Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.

What the record says

NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.

Some deaths were from floods, but most were from tephra falls.

Other significant eruptions of Oraefajokull

More

Every eruption in 1362The 1300sOraefajokullEarthquakes near OraefajokullThis day in weather history

Sources

Volcanoes and significant eruptions from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. Volcano numbers are the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program’s. NCEI event 4326.