September 19, 1994 Eruption of Rabaul

Name: September 19, 1994 Eruption of Rabaul
Start: 1994-09-19
Location: Rabaul, Papua New Guinea

September 19, 1994 · VEI 3 · 5 deaths · $86 million

Rabaul in Papua New Guinea erupted on September 19, 1994 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 3. The eruption killed 5 people, counting its secondary effects. It caused a tsunami.

Where it erupted

Rabaul, Papua New Guinea, with its other significant eruptions.

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The eruption

Date: September 19, 1994
Volcano: Rabaul, pyroclastic shield
Country: Papua New Guinea
Volcanic Explosivity Index: 3, moderate to large (eruption column 3 to 15 km)
Killed by: Tephra (ash, bombs, lapilli, steam blasts); Waves or tsunami; Electrical (lightning)
Tsunami: Yes: the tsunami it caused
Location: 4.246° S, 152.194° E

The toll

Deaths: 4; 5 with the tsunamis, mudflows and other effects it caused
Damage: $86 million
Houses destroyed: Few (about 1 to 50) with the tsunamis, mudflows and other effects it caused

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 official death toll from the eruption and associated events was 5; four due to house roofs collapsing and one due to lightning. Witham lists range of 2-10 fatalities. (reference #9675)

Explosions from Tavurvur and Vulcan occurred on September 19, following swarms of earthquakes. Within a few minutes of the start of the eruption of Vulcan, pyroclastic flows were generated and stretched 2 km across the water towards Rabaul. Tsunamis were generated in Simpson Harbour. Ash from Tavurvur covered the town of Rabaul causing considerable damage. In the town of Rabaul 4 people died. Estimated infrastructure loses from the eruption are over 100 million PGK (over 35 million USD).

The total direct losses from the eruption are of the order of K280 million (86 million USD). (reference #44)

At 0615 (LT) on September 19, 1994, [18 Sept 20:15 UTC] Tavurvur volcano broke into eruption, and about one hour later Vulcan volcano began erupting. The eruptions were immediately preceded by vigorous seismicity; the maximum magnitude of the earthquake was 5.1 (Blong and McKee, 1995). Soon after its onset the eruption at Vulcan increased in strength and included a phase of strong Plinian activity. Pyroclastic flows reached as far as 2 km fiom the crater, and the eruption column rose up to 20 km. (#3809)

Other significant eruptions of Rabaul

Every eruption in 1994 The 1900s Rabaul Earthquakes near Rabaul 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 2180.