March 27, 1944 Eruption of Vesuvius

Name: March 27, 1944 Eruption of Vesuvius
Start: 1944-03-27
Location: Vesuvius, Italy

March 27, 1944 · VEI 3 · 27 deaths

Vesuvius in Italy erupted on March 27, 1944 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 3. The eruption killed 27 people.

Where it erupted

Vesuvius, Italy, with its other significant eruptions.

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The eruption

Date: March 27, 1944
Volcano: Vesuvius, complex volcano
Country: Italy
Volcanic Explosivity Index: 3, moderate to large (eruption column 3 to 15 km)
Killed by: Tephra (ash, bombs, lapilli, steam blasts); Lava flows; Indirect deaths (disease, starvation, exposure)
Location: 40.821° N, 14.426° E

The toll

Deaths: 27

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.

Roof collapses under tephra loads causing 12 deaths at Nocera and 9 at Pagani. Trees falling under tephra load or falling fragments at Terzigno killed 3. Two small boys were killed at San Sebastiano when lava exploded upon reaching a water tank. One elderly man killed himself, in sorrow at the desolation of San Sabastiano. (reference #9675)

Other significant eruptions of Vesuvius

Every eruption in 1944 The 1900s Vesuvius Earthquakes near Vesuvius 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 39.