June 7, 1892 Eruption of Awu

Name: June 7, 1892 Eruption of Awu
Start: 1892-06-07
Location: Awu, Indonesia

June 7, 1892 · VEI 3 · 1,532 deaths

Awu in Indonesia erupted on June 7, 1892 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 3. The eruption killed 1,532 people. It caused a tsunami.

Where it erupted

Awu, Indonesia, with its other significant eruptions.

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The eruption

Date: June 7, 1892
Volcano: Awu, stratovolcano
Country: Indonesia
Volcanic Explosivity Index: 3, moderate to large (eruption column 3 to 15 km)
Killed by: Pyroclastic flows, surges and direct blasts; Mudflows and lahars
Tsunami: Yes: the tsunami it caused
Location: 3.689° N, 125.447° E

The toll

Deaths: 1,532
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.

Reference #9675:

Fatalities all on N coast attributed to pyroclastic flows and lahars; 10-12 villages totally destroyed. Sapper gives death toll as 1,000-1,500.

Reference #414:

As a result of the eruption, 1,532 people died on the island, or 2% of its population, since many huts collapsed under the weight of ejecta, while others were washed away by the streams.

Reference #1686:

Similar tsunamis at nearby Awu volcano, on 2 March 1856 and 7 June 1892, seem also to have been produced by nuees ardentes entering the sea.

Reference #2432:

Awu is one of Indonesia's deadliest volcanoes; powerful explosive eruptions in 1711, 1812, 1856, 1892, and 1966 produced devastating pyroclastic flows and lahars that caused more than 8000 cumulative fatalities.

Other significant eruptions of Awu

Every eruption in 1892 The 1800s Awu Earthquakes near Awu This 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 584.