December 1883 Eruption of Bagana

Name: December 1883 Eruption of Bagana
Start: 1883-12
Location: Bagana, Papua New Guinea

December 1883 · VEI 3 · Deaths: some

Bagana in Papua New Guinea erupted in December 1883 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 3.

Where it erupted

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

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The eruption

Date: December 1883
Volcano: Bagana, lava cone
Country: Papua New Guinea
Volcanic Explosivity Index: 3, moderate to large (eruption column 3 to 15 km)
Killed by: Tephra (ash, bombs, lapilli, steam blasts)
Location: 6.137° S, 155.196° E

The toll

Deaths: 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.

"Great Explosion" Dec 1883 or Jan 1884 killed several people. (reference #9675)

Other significant eruptions of Bagana

July 7, 2023VEI 2

Every eruption in 1883 The 1800s Bagana Earthquakes near Bagana

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 2190.