August 9, 1901 Eruption of East Epi

The French steamer Pacifique, which arrived from New Caledonia yesterday, brought news of a volcanic eruption in the New Hebrides Group. The first shocks appear to have occurred in the night of the 8th of last month, and they increased until they became so violent that the white inhabitants fled from their dwellings and the natives hid themselves in the bush. The shocks were very severe on Ambrym, Pentecost and Espritu Santo. So far as could be learnt no loss of life had taken place, but on the coast station dwellings were shaken to pieces. The earthquake was due to an eruption of a volcano near Epi. Describing that outburst, a passenger by the steamer La Parouse said: "Immense vomiting jets of smoke and flame went skyward. The spectacle as viewed from the deck of the La Parouse was impressively grand." The eruption was followed by a tidal wave, which did infinitely greater damage to the plantations than the eruption. (reference #6185)

Epi Island, New Hebrides, 16.83 S, 168.53 E, 1901, New island--listed in Table 19: List of Active Volcanoes (reference #130)

8 August 1901 (LT) Karua, south-east Epi. A tsunami followed an eruption of a volcano near Epi Island on 8 August 1901, as described by testimonies reported in the Sydney Morning Herald (1901), “The eruption was followed by a tidal wave, which did infinitely greater damage to the plantations than the eruption.” The responsible volcano is likely to have been Karua, located south-east of Epi Island, which is known to have been very active in 1900–1901 (Eissen et al., 1991). (reference #13893)