September 9, 1780 Eruption of Aira

Name: September 9, 1780 Eruption of Aira
Start: 1780-09-09
Location: Aira, Japan

September 9, 1780 · VEI 4

Aira in Japan erupted on September 9, 1780 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 4. It caused a tsunami.

Where it erupted

Aira, Japan, with its other significant eruptions.

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The eruption

Date: September 9, 1780
Volcano: Aira, stratovolcano
Country: Japan
Volcanic Explosivity Index: 4, large (eruption column 10 to 25 km)
Tsunami: Yes: the tsunami it caused
Location: 31.577° N, 130.659° E

The toll

Damage: Moderate (about $1 to $5 million) 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.

Reference #1686:

The eruption of 9 September 1780, generated waves up to 6 m in height.

Reference #414:

1780, September 9. A tsunami was observed on the coast of Kagoshima Bay (south of Kyushu Island). It was caused by an explosion of the Sakurajima volcano.

Other significant eruptions of Aira

Every eruption in 1780 The 1700s Aira Earthquakes near Aira 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 2026-09-24. Volcano numbers are the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program’s. NCEI event 4523.