Merapi

July 25, 1920 Eruption of Merapi

July 25, 1920 · VEI 2 · 35 deaths

Merapi in Indonesia erupted on July 25, 1920 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 2. The eruption killed 35 people.

Where it erupted

Merapi, Indonesia, with its other significant eruptions.

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The eruption

Date
July 25, 1920
Volcano
Merapi, stratovolcano
Country
Indonesia
Volcanic Explosivity Index
2, moderate (eruption column 1 to 5 km)
Killed by
Pyroclastic flows, surges and direct blasts
Location
7.540° S, 110.446° E

The toll

Deaths
35

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.

Pyroclastic surge on October 12 killed 35 persons in ravine on SW flank. Most were immediately killed, but some succumbed a few days later. (reference #9675)

Pyroclastic flow on 10/13 killed 33 persons on flanks; another source lists 35 fatalities. (reference #1412)

Other significant eruptions of Merapi

More

Every eruption in 1920The 1900sMerapiEarthquakes near MerapiThis 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 92.