January 8, 1933 Eruption of Kharimkotan
Kharimkotan in Russia erupted on January 8, 1933 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 5. The eruption killed 2 people, counting its secondary effects. It caused a tsunami.
Where it erupted
Kharimkotan, Russia.
The eruption
- Date
- January 8, 1933
- Volcano
- Kharimkotan, stratovolcano
- Country
- Russia
- Volcanic Explosivity Index
- 5, very large (eruption column over 25 km)
- Killed by
- Waves or tsunami
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Location
- 49.120° N, 154.508° E
The toll
- Deaths
- 2 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.
A tsunami from the collapse of Severgiin volcano reached as far as Onekotan and Paramushir Islands, where two persons were killed. Tsunami reported to be 20 m high (reference #1412)
A central cone, Severgin, was largely destroyed during the 1933 eruption, one of the largest in the Kuril Islands during historical time. Impact of a debris avalanche into the sea from the collapse of Severgin produced a tsunami that swept the island's coast and reached Onekotan and Paramushir Islands, killing two people. (reference #2432)
More
Every eruption in 1933The 1900sKharimkotanEarthquakes near KharimkotanThis 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 2822.