September 30, 1996 Eruption of Grimsvotn

Name: September 30, 1996 Eruption of Grimsvotn
Start: 1996-09-30
Location: Grimsvotn, Iceland

September 30, 1996 · VEI 3

Grimsvotn in Iceland erupted on September 30, 1996 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 3.

Where it erupted

Grimsvotn, Iceland, with its other significant eruptions.

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The eruption

Date: September 30, 1996
Volcano: Grimsvotn, caldera
Country: Iceland
Volcanic Explosivity Index: 3, moderate to large (eruption column 3 to 15 km)
Location: 64.416° N, 17.316° W

The toll

Damage: Limited (under about $1 million)

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.

Damage to land and property.

Other significant eruptions of Grimsvotn

Every eruption in 1996 The 1900s Grimsvotn Earthquakes near Grimsvotn 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 4291.