April 1784 Eruption of Grimsvotn
Grimsvotn in Iceland erupted in April 1784 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 4. The eruption killed 9,350 people, counting its secondary effects.
Where it erupted
Grimsvotn, Iceland, with its other significant eruptions.
The eruption
The toll
- Deaths
- 9,350 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.
Widespread famine resulted from destruction of summer crops and poisoning of livestock. The human population was reduced from 48,884 in 1783 to 28,363 in 1786, a loss of 22%. When natural birth and death rates are taken into account the best estimate of the death toll becomes 9,350. Fine dust in Scotland also destroyed crops. The combined effects of the Lakagigar and Asama eruptions may have contributed to the Tenmei famine in N Japan and elsewhere.
Other significant eruptions of Grimsvotn
More
Every eruption in 1784The 1700sGrimsvotnEarthquakes near Grimsvotn
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 4280.