August 30, 1903 Eruption of Okataina

Name: August 30, 1903 Eruption of Okataina
Start: 1903-08-30
Location: Okataina, New Zealand

August 30, 1903 · VEI 1 · 4 deaths

Okataina in New Zealand erupted on August 30, 1903 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 1. The eruption killed 4 people.

Where it erupted

Okataina, New Zealand, with its other significant eruptions.

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The eruption

Date: August 30, 1903
Volcano: Okataina, lava dome
Country: New Zealand
Volcanic Explosivity Index: 1, small (eruption column 100 m to 1 km)
Killed by: Tephra (ash, bombs, lapilli, steam blasts)
Location: 38.157° S, 176.507° E

The toll

Deaths: 4

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.

4 killed by eruption of Waimangu geyser. (reference #9675)

Other significant eruptions of Okataina

Every eruption in 1903 The 1900s Okataina Earthquakes near Okataina 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 27.