October 9, 1972 Eruption of Ritter Island

Name: October 9, 1972 Eruption of Ritter Island
Start: 1972-10-09
Location: Ritter Island, Papua New Guinea

October 9, 1972 · VEI 1

Ritter Island in Papua New Guinea erupted on October 9, 1972 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 1. It caused a tsunami.

Where it erupted

Ritter Island, Papua New Guinea, with its other significant eruptions.

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The eruption

Date: October 9, 1972
Volcano: Ritter Island, stratovolcano
Country: Papua New Guinea
Volcanic Explosivity Index: 1, small (eruption column 100 m to 1 km)
Tsunami: Yes: the tsunami it caused
Location: 5.519° S, 148.115° E

The toll

The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this eruption.

What the record says

NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.

A minor eruption occurred and was accompanied by an earthquake swarm that was felt up to 35 km from the island and recorded throughout Papua New Guinea. Three to six individual explosions occurred and a small tsunami may have been generated.

Other significant eruptions of Ritter Island

Every eruption in 1972 The 1900s Ritter Island Earthquakes near Ritter Island 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 4704.