March 1615 Eruption of Banda Api
Banda Api in the Pacific Ocean erupted in March 1615 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 3.
Where it erupted
Banda Api, Pacific Ocean, with its other significant eruptions.
The eruption
- Date
- March 1615
- Volcano
- Banda Api, caldera
- Country
- Pacific Ocean
- Volcanic Explosivity Index
- 3, moderate to large (eruption column 3 to 15 km)
- Location
- 4.523° S, 129.881° E
The toll
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Some (about 51 to 100)
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.
Sapper notes all settlements destroyed.
Other significant eruptions of Banda Api
More
Every eruption in 1615The 1600sBanda ApiEarthquakes near Banda Api
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 474.