October 31, 1566 Eruption of Kirishimayama

Name: October 31, 1566 Eruption of Kirishimayama
Start: 1566-10-31
Location: Kirishimayama, Japan

October 31, 1566 · VEI 3 · Deaths: many

Kirishimayama in Japan erupted on October 31, 1566 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 3.

Where it erupted

Kirishimayama, Japan, with its other significant eruptions.

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The eruption

Date: October 31, 1566
Volcano: Kirishimayama, shield volcano
Country: Japan
Volcanic Explosivity Index: 3, moderate to large (eruption column 3 to 15 km)
Location: 31.934° N, 130.862° 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.

JMA mentions fatalities. Murayama says many.

Other significant eruptions of Kirishimayama

Every eruption in 1566 The 1500s Kirishimayama Earthquakes near Kirishimayama This 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 2026-10-01. Volcano numbers are the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program’s. NCEI event 904.