Karangetang

September 15, 1976 Eruption of Karangetang

September 15, 1976 · VEI 2 · 1 death · 24 houses destroyed

Karangetang in Indonesia erupted on September 15, 1976 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 2. The eruption killed 1 person.

Where it erupted

Karangetang, Indonesia, with its other significant eruptions.

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The eruption

Date
September 15, 1976
Volcano
Karangetang, stratovolcano
Country
Indonesia
Volcanic Explosivity Index
2, moderate (eruption column 1 to 5 km)
Killed by
Pyroclastic flows, surges and direct blasts; Lava flows
Location
2.781° N, 125.407° E

The toll

Deaths
1
Injuries
1
Houses destroyed
24

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.

1 killed and 1 injured by small pyroclastic flow from collapse of lava flow front when evacuees returned at night to witness incandescent lava. 24 houses destroyed by lava. (reference #1412)

24 houses destroyed, 44 in the path of the flow dismantled. (reference #13732)

Other significant eruptions of Karangetang

More

Every eruption in 1976The 1900sKarangetangEarthquakes near KarangetangThis 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 562.