October 20, 1981 Eruption of Krakatau
Krakatau in Indonesia erupted on October 20, 1981 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 1. It caused a tsunami.
Where it erupted
Krakatau, Indonesia, with its other significant eruptions.
The eruption
- Date
- October 20, 1981
- Volcano
- Krakatau, caldera
- Country
- Indonesia
- Volcanic Explosivity Index
- 1, small (eruption column 100 m to 1 km)
- Killed by
- Avalanche (debris and landslides); Tephra (ash, bombs, lapilli, steam blasts); Waves or tsunami
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Location
- 6.101° S, 105.423° 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.
In 1981, after a short period of rest, a new eruptive period began; explosions were recorded on Oct. 20th by Camus and Vincent (1981) and on Dec. 8th by Oba et al. (1982). On Oct. 20th,cannon-like explosions, followed by convective growth of an eruption column reaching 400-600m, and occasionally 1-2 km, occurred every 6-7minutes in the morning with products characterized by large dacitic bread-crust bombs. In that sense the 1981 activity was strictly "vulcanian". (reference #12821)
Other significant eruptions of Krakatau
More
Every eruption in 1981The 1900sKrakatauEarthquakes near KrakatauThis 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 7525.