August 17, 1863 Eruption of Yasur
Yasur in Vanuatu erupted on August 17, 1863. It caused a tsunami.
Where it erupted
Yasur, Vanuatu, with its other significant eruptions.
The eruption
- Date
- August 17, 1863
- Volcano
- Yasur, stratovolcano
- Country
- Vanuatu
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Earthquake
- Yes: the earthquake with it
- Location
- 19.532° S, 169.447° 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.
Reference #414:
1863, August 17. There was a weak underground shock which passed almost unnoticed, at Noumea (Port de France) in New Caledonia on the 15th at 19:30. There was a more perceptible shock on the 17th at 2O:00. It considerably disturbed the instruments at the astronomical observatory. The crosslines of the tubes of the transit instrument after the shock experienced spasmodic oscillations which were larger north-south than east-west. Then came news that the shocks may have been connected with an eruption of the volcano on Tanna Island. The news was delivered to the Vagap post office by a small English schooner, which had been situated near the volcano at the time of the eruptions. According to the captain, lava covered half the island, causing numerous victims among the population.
Other significant eruptions of Yasur
More
Every eruption in 1863The 1800sYasurEarthquakes near YasurThis 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 5624.