Mayon

February 1, 1814 Eruption of Mayon

February 1, 1814 · VEI 4 · 1,200 deaths

Mayon in the Philippines erupted on February 1, 1814 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 4. The eruption killed 1,200 people.

Where it erupted

Mayon, Philippines, with its other significant eruptions.

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The eruption

Date
February 1, 1814
Volcano
Mayon, stratovolcano
Volcanic Explosivity Index
4, large (eruption column 10 to 25 km)
Killed by
Pyroclastic flows, surges and direct blasts; Mudflows and lahars; Electrical (lightning)
Location
13.257° N, 123.685° E

The toll

Deaths
1,200
Damage
Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
Houses destroyed
Many (101 to 1,000)

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.

COMVOL regarded most deaths as due to lahars but more recent workd at Casagua suggests pyroclastic flows were dominant cause of fatalities. Town of Budiao destroyed; town of Camalig also destroyed and burned; towns of Albay, Guinobatan and Balusan partly destroyed. Some deaths from electrical discharges.

Other significant eruptions of Mayon

More

Every eruption in 1814The 1800sMayonEarthquakes near MayonThis 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 707.