Volcanoes - Extreme Events: A Physical Reconstruction and Risk Assessment - page 207

Table 8.1 Largest volcanic eruptions of the last 10 000 years

km 3 Year Volcano Country erupted

AD 1815 Tambora Indonesia 100

AD 186 Taupo New Zealand 100

3450 BP Aniakchak Alaska 50

6850 BP Crater Lake USA 30--40

6300 BP Kikai-Akahoya Japan 30--40

AD 1452 Kuwae Vanuatu 32--39

3600 BP Santorini Greece 30--33

AD 50 Ambrym Vanuatu 19--25

AD 1912 Katmai Alaska 12

AD 1991 Pinatubo Philippines 10

AD 1983--present Kilauea Hawaii 2

AD 1980 St. Helens USA 1

Table 8.2 Largest volcanic eruptions in prehistory

km 3

Year Volcano Country erupted

28 Ma Fish Canyon USA 5000

1.3Ma Yellowstone USA 1000

26 000 BP Taupo New Zealand 800

760 000 BP Long Valley USA 600

the cone collapsed to form a caldera with a diameter of 3 km. Ash falls were
as high as 2--3 m and covered the towns of Stabiae and Pompeii. Although the
town of Herculaneum was also affected by ash deposits and pyroclastic flows,
its destruction was caused by a 20 m thick lahar generated by ground water
expulsion as the volcano collapsed. Although most of the residents of Pompeii
had evacuated, 10% were caught by the pyroclastic flow. Mount Vesuvius has had
aperiodic eruptions up to the present. Major eruptions occurred in AD 203, 472,
512, 685, 787, five times between 968 and 1073, 1630 and 1906. Three hundred
deaths occurred during the 1906 eruption due mainly to collapsing roofs when
tephra up to seven metres thick fell on the northeast side of the volcano (Bryant,
2005).
The eruption of Krakatau in 1883 was also one of the largest explosive volcano
eruptions in historic times. Its ferocity was largely due to the collapse of the
caldera into the ocean. Krakatau lies in the Straits of Sunda between Sumatra
and Java in Indonesia. Three months prior to a dozen Plinian-type eruptions, one
vent had become active and thrown ash 1 km into the atmosphere. A few weeks