Banda Api

November 1, 1835 Eruption of Banda Api

November 1, 1835 · Deaths: many

Banda Api in the Pacific Ocean erupted on November 1, 1835.

Where it erupted

Banda Api, Pacific Ocean, with its other significant eruptions.

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The eruption

Date
November 1, 1835
Volcano
Banda Api, caldera
Location
4.523° S, 129.881° E

The toll

Deaths
Many (about 101 to 1,000)
Damage
Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
Houses destroyed
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.

1835, November 1. In the Moluccas islands. A violent and destructive earthquake. In Amboyna the single shock on this day lasted 35 secs. It was the most violent, but other shocks were felt on the 4th. Preceded for three weeks by a heavy sulphurous fog. A volcanic eruption at the same time at Gunong Api in the island of Banda. Buildings were ruined and many persons lost their lives. (reference #497)

Th Smithsonian Institution, Global Volcanism Program Digital Information Series (http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/) lists an uncertain eruption in Oct 1835 at Banda Api, which is probably what Mallet (ref #497) is referring to.

Other significant eruptions of Banda Api

More

Every eruption in 1835The 1800sBanda 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 5605.