Which volcanic eruptions caused the biggest ash falls?

At Mount Pinatubo, this major earthquake caused a landslide, some local earthquakes, and a short-lived increase in steam emissions from a preexisting geothermal area, but otherwise the ... Fine ash fell as far away as the Indian Ocean, and satellites tracked the ash cloud several times around the globe. read more

Giant lava flow devours street, parked car after Kilauea volcano's eruption on Hawaii's Big Island President Trump declared a major disaster in Hawaii following a request by the state's governor. The order will make federal funding available to supplement state and local recovery efforts. read more

Heavy ash falls may cause telecommunication lines, masts, cables, aerials, antennae dishes and towers to collapse due to ash loading. Moist ash may also cause accelerated corrosion of metal components. Reports from recent eruptions suggest that the largest disruption to communication networks is overloading due to high user demand. read more

Ash fall from the two largest eruptions in the United States in the 20th century (yellow) is Ash from Mount St. Helens' Ephrata, Wash., May 1980 ((c) dwarfed by ash fall from ancient eruptions. More than $1 billion in losses was caused by Mount St. Helens'1980 eruption—much of by ash. read more