July 9, 1757 Eruption of Sao Jorge
Sao Jorge in Portugal erupted on July 9, 1757 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 0. The eruption killed 1,053 people, counting its secondary effects.
Where it erupted
Sao Jorge, Portugal, with its other significant eruptions.
The eruption
- Date
- July 9, 1757
- Volcano
- Sao Jorge, fissure vent
- Country
- Portugal
- Volcanic Explosivity Index
- 0, non-explosive (eruption column under 100 m)
- Killed by
- Seismic, or volcanic earthquake (tectonic earthquake deaths excluded)
- Earthquake
- Yes: the earthquake with it
- Location
- 38.650° N, 28.080° W
The toll
- Deaths
- 1,053 with the tsunamis, mudflows and other effects it caused
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million) with the tsunamis, mudflows and other effects it caused
- Houses destroyed
- Very many (over 1,000) with the tsunamis, mudflows and other effects it caused
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 submarine eruption of 1757 coincided with history's most violent earthquake in Azores, centered in the E part of the island and causing several hundred deaths.
Other significant eruptions of Sao Jorge
More
Every eruption in 1757The 1700sSao JorgeEarthquakes near Sao JorgeThis 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 4512.