January 15, 1994 Eruption of Yasur
Yasur in Vanuatu erupted on January 15, 1994 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 3. The eruption killed 1 person.
Where it erupted
Yasur, Vanuatu, with its other significant eruptions.
The eruption
The toll
- Deaths
- 1
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.
During October 1993, a telemetered surveillance station registered variations in the seismicity at Yasur. The station is located 2 km from the crater on the ashflow plain. Seismicity (detected at five stations) generally increased from October 1993 to January 1994, corresponding to renewed eruptive activity. Very strong activity from January 1994 to January 1995 (comparable to 1976-77) ejected bombs in a radius of ~400 m from the crater rim (figure 4). Ashfall measured at the surveillance station totaled ~12 cm during January-October 1994. Seismicity remained high throughout 1994, then declined after January 1995.
Because Yasur is very accessible, it has been promoted as a tourist destination, resulting in a greater number of visitors and greater risk of accidents. In mid-January 1994 and early February 1995, when activity began to decline, there were two accidents with three victims.
(reference #2432)
Other significant eruptions of Yasur
More
Every eruption in 1994The 1900sYasurEarthquakes near YasurThis 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 2308.