August 3, 1954 Eruption of Bam
Bam in Papua New Guinea erupted on August 3, 1954 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 2. The eruption killed 25 people, counting its secondary effects.
Where it erupted
Bam, Papua New Guinea, with its other significant eruptions.
The eruption
- Date
- August 3, 1954
- Volcano
- Bam, stratovolcano
- Country
- Papua New Guinea
- Volcanic Explosivity Index
- 2, moderate (eruption column 1 to 5 km)
- Killed by
- Indirect deaths (disease, starvation, exposure)
- Location
- 3.613° S, 144.818° E
The toll
- Deaths
- 25 with the tsunamis, mudflows and other effects it caused
- 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.
The population of Bam was evacuated to Bogia on the mainland for 6 months. For a number of reasons, the people could not adapt to their new environment. 25 died while at Bogia and many more suffered from illness. (reference #9675)
More
Every eruption in 1954The 1900sBamEarthquakes near BamThis 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 38.