November 20, 1694 Eruption of Banda Api
Banda Api in the Pacific Ocean erupted on November 20, 1694 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 3.
Where it erupted
Banda Api, Pacific Ocean, with its other significant eruptions.
The eruption
- Date
- November 20, 1694
- 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
- Deaths
- 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.
The whole population at the foot of the volcano was destroyed. Neumann van Pandang reports an enormous outburst on this day sestroyed vegetation on the island. Some sources do not list fatalities.
Other significant eruptions of Banda Api
More
Every eruption in 1694The 1600sBanda ApiEarthquakes near Banda ApiThis 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 477.