March 13, 1888 Eruption of Ritter Island

Reference #9675:

Hundreds of people were killed on the coasts of neighboring islands (including Umboi & New Britain) by a tsunami created by the debris avalanche. Tsunami reached 12-15 m above normal sea level. Latter believes ~3,000 killed.

Reference #414:

1888, March 13, early morning. The Sakar (Ritter) Volcano exploded. The cone of this volcano formed the island of the same name and had a height of 790 m above the water. The bulk of the volcanic structure flew into the air; only the eastern third of the cone remained in the form of a slope 120 m high, arc-shaped in plan, with steep inner and outer walls. In place of the part of the volcano which disappeared, depths formed with marks of more than 100 m. The total mass of ejecta was estimated at 1 3/4 km3.

Reference #2379:

Ritter Island Volcano:

Start Date: 1888 Mar 13; Stop Date: 1888 Mar 13.

Eruption Certainty: Confirmed; VEI: 2; Evidence: Historical Observations.

Reference #2682:

The principal effects of the catastrophe on 13 March 1888 were a large tsunami and the disappearance of a large part of Ritter Island.

This Ritter Island "eruption" was one of a worldwide group of eruptions selected by Lamb (1970) to account for an apparent solar radiation anomaly in the years 1888-1892.

The cone collapsed without warning on 13 March 1888, probably in a single episode lasting no more than 30 minutes, causing a 12-15 m tsunami, and producing a caldera (average diameter about 2.5 km). The volume loss was about 2 km3. There was probably no major explosive eruption at the time of the collapse. Small-scale explosions may have taken place, but none was reported.

Reference #12675:

This event, the largest lateral collapse of an island volcano to be recorded in historical time, flung devastating tsunami tens of metres high on to adjacent shores.

Ritter Island, one of a group of volcanic islands between NewBritain and New Guinea, collapsed on 1888 March 13, around 5:30 am local time (Cooke 1981). The collapse reduced the 780 m high, 1.5 km wide island to a thin crescent-shaped remnant and excavated much of the western submarine flank of the volcano (Johnson 1987).