May 29, 2020 Eruption of Ijen
Ijen in Indonesia erupted on May 29, 2020. The eruption killed 1 person. It caused a tsunami.
Where it erupted
Ijen, Indonesia, with its other significant eruptions.
The eruption
- Date
- May 29, 2020
- Volcano
- Ijen, stratovolcano
- Country
- Indonesia
- Killed by
- Gas (from eruptive craters, fumaroles and solfataras); Waves or tsunami; Seismic, or volcanic earthquake (tectonic earthquake deaths excluded)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Earthquake
- Yes: the earthquake with it
- Location
- 8.058° S, 114.242° E
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.
PVMBG reported that on 29 May a gas explosion at Ijen generated a plume that rose 250-500 m above the surface of the lake. According to news articles two sulfur miners heard the explosion from under the water at 1230, which created 3-m-high waves in the lake; the miners ran but one tripped and fell into the lake. Search efforts were unsuccessful after three hours and, due to weather conditions and an increased amount of gas in the crater area, had to be suspended. (reference #2432, 12736)
Other significant eruptions of Ijen
More
Every eruption in 2020The 2000sIjenEarthquakes near IjenThis 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 7504.