Top Ten Deadliest Volcanoes
Mount Tambora is on Sumbawa island, part of the Lesser Sunda Islands. It is a segment of the Sunda Arc, a string of volcanic islands that make up the southern chain of the Indonesian archipelago. Tambora forms its own peninsula on Sumbawa, known as the Sanggar peninsula.
The eruption of Krakatoa, or Krakatau, in August 1883 was one of the most deadly volcanic eruptions of modern history. It is estimated that more than 36,000 people died. Many died as a result of thermal injury from the blasts and many more were victims of the tsunamis that followed the collapse of the volcano into the caldera below sea level.
Volcanic eruptions can be highly explosive, volatile, or neither. Certain volcanoes have undergone catastrophic eruptions, killing large numbers of humans, and this incomplete list attempts to document those volcanic eruptions by death toll.
Mount Unzen eruption of 1792, volcanic eruption of Mount Unzen, western Kyushu, Japan, that led to a destructive landslide and a tsunami. The death toll from the disaster is estimated at some 15,000 people, making it the most deadly volcanic eruption in Japan’s history.
Volcanic eruptions can be highly explosive, volatile, or neither. Certain volcanoes have undergone catastrophic eruptions, killing large numbers of humans, and this incomplete list attempts to document those volcanic eruptions by death toll.
Like many Indonesian volcanoes and others on the Pacific Ring of Fire, Kelud is known for large explosive eruptions throughout its history. More than 30 eruptions have occurred since 1000 AD. In 2007, an effusive explosion filled the crater with a lava dome.
The following table lists the deadliest volcanic eruptions in the world on record according to name, year, number of deaths, and major cause of deaths. In 1812, Tambora volcano in Indonesia erupted causing 92,000 deaths.
The quick answer: Vesuvius volcano in the Gulf of Naples, Italy. The reason is that Vesuvius' typical eruptions are very explosive and the slopes of the volcano and immediate area surrounding the volcano are extremely densely populated; even the city of Naples is only about 20 km away from the volcano.