January 21, 1951 Eruption of Lamington

Name: January 21, 1951 Eruption of Lamington
Start: 1951-01-21
Location: Lamington, Papua New Guinea

January 21, 1951 · VEI 4 · 2,942 deaths

Lamington in Papua New Guinea erupted on January 21, 1951 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 4. The eruption killed 2,942 people.

Where it erupted

Lamington, Papua New Guinea, with its other significant eruptions.

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The eruption

Date: January 21, 1951
Volcano: Lamington, stratovolcano
Country: Papua New Guinea
Volcanic Explosivity Index: 4, large (eruption column 10 to 25 km)
Killed by: Pyroclastic flows, surges and direct blasts
Location: 8.950° S, 148.150° E

The toll

Deaths: 2,942
Injuries: Some (about 51 to 100)

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.

All killed in pyroclastic flows at N-flank villages. Of 40 survivors from inner zone of devastation who reached hospital, 22 died within 24 hours. (reference #1412, #9675, #10953)

On 21 January 1951, a major explosive eruption at Lamington killed ~3,000 people, the most of all historical volcanic eruptions in Papua New Guinea. Before the 1951 eruption, Lamington was not known to be a volcano. The paroxysmal eruption was not a sudden happening, but had begun several days earlier when nearby residents started to see changes in the summit area. The pyroclastic flow from the eruption devastated an area of ~200 square km. Since the 1951 eruption, seismic activity has been absent to rare. Seismic records on 21 December 2000 and 17 February 2001 showed several hours of very high seismicity, but it was difficult to ascertain the cause. (reference #13306)

Every eruption in 1951 The 1900s Lamington Earthquakes near Lamington 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 2188.