June 17, 1895 Eruption of Karkar
Karkar in Papua New Guinea erupted on June 17, 1895 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 2. The eruption killed 21 people, counting its secondary effects.
Where it erupted
Karkar, Papua New Guinea, with its other significant eruptions.
The eruption
- Date
- June 17, 1895
- Volcano
- Karkar, stratovolcano
- Country
- Papua New Guinea
- Volcanic Explosivity Index
- 2, moderate (eruption column 1 to 5 km)
- Killed by
- Indirect deaths (disease, starvation, exposure); Mudflows and lahars
- Location
- 4.647° S, 145.976° E
The toll
- Deaths
- 1; 21 with the tsunamis, mudflows and other effects it caused
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.
Island covered with falls of ash and lapilli. At least one person died in a mud flow. Gardens were affected and many (20?) children and old people died of starvation. It is possible that some of these deaths resulted from smallpox. (reference #9675)
Other significant eruptions of Karkar
More
Every eruption in 1895The 1800sKarkarEarthquakes near KarkarThis 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 35.