1870 Eruption of Ambae

Name: 1870 Eruption of Ambae
Start: 1870
Location: Ambae, Vanuatu

1870 · VEI 2 · 100 deaths

Ambae in Vanuatu erupted in 1870 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 2. The eruption killed 100 people.

Where it erupted

Ambae, Vanuatu, with its other significant eruptions.

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The eruption

Date: 1870
Volcano: Ambae, shield volcano
Country: Vanuatu
Volcanic Explosivity Index: 2, moderate (eruption column 1 to 5 km)
Killed by: Mudflows and lahars
Location: 15.389° S, 167.835° E

The toll

Deaths: 100
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.

Lahars annihilated villages on SE flank about 1870, causing >100? fatalities. (reference #9675)

Lahars annihilated villages on SE flank about 100 years ago. (reference #1412)

Other significant eruptions of Ambae

Every eruption in 1870 The 1800s Ambae Earthquakes near Ambae

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 4448.