Camiguin

December 4, 1951 Eruption of Camiguin

December 4, 1951 · VEI 3 · 500 deaths

Camiguin in the Philippines erupted on December 4, 1951 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 3. The eruption killed 500 people.

Where it erupted

Camiguin, Philippines, with its other significant eruptions.

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The eruption

Date
December 4, 1951
Volcano
Camiguin, stratovolcano
Volcanic Explosivity Index
3, moderate to large (eruption column 3 to 15 km)
Killed by
Pyroclastic flows, surges and direct blasts
Location
9.203° N, 124.673° E

The toll

Deaths
500
Missing
1,500

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.

Time (12/17/51) gives 500 killed, 266 bodies found and maybe 1,500 unaccounted for. Alcaraz gives 500 killed & 3 more on 12/06. (reference #9675)

Other significant eruptions of Camiguin

More

Every eruption in 1951The 1900sCamiguinEarthquakes near CamiguinThis 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 6426.