1850 Eruption of Rabaul

Name: 1850 Eruption of Rabaul
Start: 1850
Location: Rabaul, Papua New Guinea

1850 · VEI 2 · Deaths: many

Rabaul in Papua New Guinea erupted in 1850 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 2.

Where it erupted

Rabaul, Papua New Guinea, with its other significant eruptions.

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The eruption

Date: 1850
Volcano: Rabaul, pyroclastic shield
Country: Papua New Guinea
Volcanic Explosivity Index: 2, moderate (eruption column 1 to 5 km)
Killed by: Tephra (ash, bombs, lapilli, steam blasts)
Location: 4.246° S, 152.194° E

The toll

Deaths: Many (about 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.

Many deaths caused by fall of huge blocks of pumice. Several other outbursts in ~12 years before 1877 report. (reference #9675)

Other significant eruptions of Rabaul

Every eruption in 1850 The 1800s Rabaul Earthquakes near Rabaul

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 5.