March 18, 1963 Eruption of Agung

Name: March 18, 1963 Eruption of Agung
Start: 1963-03-18
Location: Agung, Indonesia

March 18, 1963 · VEI 5 · 1,028 deaths

Agung in Indonesia erupted on March 18, 1963 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 5. The eruption killed 1,028 people. It caused a tsunami.

Where it erupted

Agung, Indonesia, with its other significant eruptions.

Open the live map with volcanic ash advisories

The eruption

Date: March 18, 1963
Volcano: Agung, stratovolcano
Country: Indonesia
Volcanic Explosivity Index: 5, very large (eruption column over 25 km)
Killed by: Pyroclastic flows, surges and direct blasts; Tephra (ash, bombs, lapilli, steam blasts); Mudflows and lahars; Avalanche (debris and landslides)
Tsunami: Yes: the tsunami it caused
Location: 8.343° S, 115.508° E

The toll

Deaths: 1,028
Missing: Many (about 101 to 1,000)
Injuries: 624

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 Agung Volcano began erupting in February and continued for almost a year. The stage of paroxysm I, the first most destructive event, occurred on March 17. The paroxysm II was on May 16.

1963, March 17. Surjo gives: 820 killed, 59 injured by pyroclastic flows, 163 and 201 by pyroclastic fall, 165 and 36 by lahars. Bodies of about half victims never found. Perhaps 140 killed at Subagan village by lahar plus others swept to sea and killed crossing lahar fileds during rainy season. Also, 8 killed by landslides on Batur caldera rim. 1,148 represents most recent official figure, presumably including 120 pyroclastic flow fatalities on May 16. Perhaps 200 of the lahar deaths occurred after the eruption. Keesings suggests 1,584 killed in the March eruption and 106 in the May eruption. (reference #9675)

Other significant eruptions of Agung

May 16, 1963VEI 3 · 120 deaths

Every eruption in 1963 The 1900s Agung Earthquakes near Agung 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 351.