Aira

November 3, 1471 Eruption of Aira

November 3, 1471 · VEI 5 · Deaths: many

Aira in Japan erupted on November 3, 1471 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 5.

Where it erupted

Aira, Japan, with its other significant eruptions.

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The eruption

Date
November 3, 1471
Volcano
Aira, stratovolcano
Country
Japan
Volcanic Explosivity Index
5, very large (eruption column over 25 km)
Killed by
Pyroclastic flows, surges and direct blasts
Location
31.577° N, 130.659° E

The toll

Deaths
Many (about 101 to 1,000)

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.

Sakurajima's largest historical eruption caused fatalities in its first and last years. Deaths possibly resulted from pyroclastic flows.

Other significant eruptions of Aira

More

Every eruption in 1471The 1400sAiraEarthquakes near AiraThis 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 846.