December 24, 1953 Eruption of Ruapehu
Ruapehu in New Zealand erupted on December 24, 1953. The eruption killed 151 people.
Where it erupted
Ruapehu, New Zealand.
The eruption
- Date
- December 24, 1953
- Volcano
- Ruapehu, stratovolcano
- Country
- New Zealand
- Killed by
- Secondary (post-eruption) mudflows
- Location
- 39.280° S, 175.570° E
The toll
- Deaths
- 151
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.
Summit crater lake drained when crevassing glacier caused ash barrier holding it in to collapse. The resulting mudflow swept away one of the piers of the Tangiwai bridge just before the arrival of the Wellington-Auckland express. Locomotive, tender and 5 carriages plunged into the river. No eruption. (reference #9675)
More
Every eruption in 1953The 1900sRuapehuEarthquakes near RuapehuThis 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 6270.