Largest volcanic eruptions since 1900

[HurricaneBill]

The 1960s had 6 eruptions rating VEI4 or higher. (5 rated VEI4; 1 rated VEI5)

1963
Volcano: Mt. Agung
Location: Indonesia
VEI: 5
Located on Bali, the eruption of Mt. Agung was the largest and deadliest of the 1960s. Pyroclastic flows and lahars claimed as many as 1,700 lives. Agung had been quiescent since 1843.

[HurricaneBill]

1964
Volcano: Mt. Shiveluch
Location: Russia (Kamchatka)
VEI: 4
Shiveluch is the northernmost of Kamchatka's active volcanoes. It is also one of Kamchatka's largest and most active. The 1964 eruption was extremely brief and lasted only an hour. However, it was extremely powerful and caused a large part of the lava dome to collapse. This caused a massive debris avalanche.

[HurricaneBill]

1965
Volcano: Taal
Location: Philippines
VEI: 4
Taal volcano is located on Volcano Island, which is located in the middle of Taal Lake. Although Taal is regarded as one of the world's smallest active volcanoes, it is extremely dangerous. Taal has had a long history of violent eruptions, including a 1911 eruption which killed at least 1,335. The 1965 eruption was phreatomagmatic. This means it was caused by magma interacting with the lake water and violently exploding. The explosion produced pyroclastic surges that traveled across Taal Lake and devastated nearby villages. 355 people were killed. Taal's most recent eruption was in 1977. Since 1991, Taal has been showing signs of unrest.

[HurricaneBill]

1966
Volcano: Kelud (This was Kelud's 3rd VEI4 eruption since 1900)
Location: Indonesia
VEI: 4
The 1951 eruption deepened the crater lake, allowing more water to fill it. When Kelud erupted in 1966, at least 212 people were killed. After the eruption, an even deeper tunnel was built to drain the lake.

[HurricaneBill]

1966
Volcano: Mt. Awu
Location: Indonesia
VEI: 4
The eruption of Mt. Awu in 1966 produced pyroclastic flows that killed at least 39 people.

[HurricaneBill]

1968
Volcano: Fernandina
Location: Ecuador (Galapagos Islands)
VEI: 4
The 1968 eruption of Fernandina caused its caldera floor to collapse 350m.

[HurricaneBill]

The 1970s had only 4 eruptions that rated VEI4 or higher. All 4 eruptions were VEI4.

1973
Volcano: Tiatia (pronounced tya-tya)
Location: Russia (Kuril Islands)
VEI: 4
Tiatia is a classic example of a somma volcano. A somma volcano is a volcanic caldera that has been partially filled by a new central core. Other examples include Teide and Vesuvius. Tiatia's 1973 eruption was its first since 1812.

[HurricaneBill]

1974
Volcano: Volcan De Fuego (This was Fuego's 2nd VEI4 eruption since 1900)
Location: Guatemala
VEI: 4
The 1974 eruption was Fuego's largest eruption since 1932. Despite Fuego's close proximity to the city of Antigua, the topography tends to protect Antigua from pyroclastic flows.

[HurricaneBill]

1975
Volcano: Tolbachik
Location: Russia (Kamchatka)
VEI: 4
Tolbachik is actually a volcanic complex, consisting of two overlapping volcanoes: Plosky (flat) Tolbachik, a shield volcano, and Ostry (sharp) Tolbachik, a stratovolcano. The 1975 eruption occurred when a fissure opened SSW of Plosky Tolbachik and caused volcanic activity all the way to the summit.

[HurricaneBill]

1976
Volcano: Mt. Augustine
Location: USA (Alaska)
VEI: 4
Captain James Cook named Augustine when he first observed it on St. Augustine's Day in 1778.

[HurricaneBill]

Sorry for the inactivity. I got sidetracked by tornado season.

The 1980s had 9 eruptions measuring VEI4 or higher. (7 VEI4s; 2 VEI5s)

1980
Volcano: Mt. St. Helens
Location: USA (Washington State)
VEI: 5

Mt. St. Helens famously woke up from a 123-year slumber in May 1980. A series of earthquakes and steam vents two months prior to the eruption allowed scientists to convince authorities that an eruption was imminent. As a result, Mt. St. Helens was closed off to the general public and the area around the volcano was evacuated. On May 18th, an earthquake weakened the northern flank of the volcano, causing a landslide. This caused a massive explosion that produced a massive debris avalance and pyroclastic flows. The eruption caused glaciers on Mt. St. Helens to melt and mix in with the debris, causing massive lahars (mudflows). The eruption and debris avalance also produced a megatsunami on nearby Spirit Lake.

The eruption killed 57 people and caused more than $1 billion in damage. Thousands of animals were killed and ash fell in 11 states.

Mt. St. Helens was one of only two volcanoes in the continental US to erupt during the 20th century. The other was Lassen Peak in California, which erupted in 1915. As of 2011, Mt. St. Helens is the only volcano in the continental US to erupt during the 21st century. It erupted in 2004.

[HurricaneBill]

1981
Volcano: Alaid
Location: Russia (Kuril Islands)
VEI: 4

Alaid is the tallest and northernmost volcano of the Kuril Islands. It is uninhabited.

[HurricaneBill]

1981
Volcano: Pagan
Location: Northern Mariana Islands
VEI: 4

Pagan Island consists of two volcanoes: North Pagan and South Pagan. Pagan's past eruptions have almost always been from North Pagan, although South Pagan will erupt occasionally.

When North Pagan erupted in 1981, the island had to be evacuated. It is now uninhabited.

[HurricaneBill]

1982
Volcano: El Chichon
Location: Mexico
VEI: 5

El Chichon ("the bump") had been quiescent for more than 600 years and people thought it had long gone extinct. So it came as a huge surprise when El Chichon erupted violently in 1982. The eruption produced pyroclastic flows that killed at least 2,000 people and caused $55 million in damage. It was, by far, Mexico's worst volcanic disaster. The eruption left a crater 300m wide and caused global temperatures to cool.

[HurricaneBill]

1982
Volcano: Mt. Galunggung
Location: Indonesia
VEI: 4

The eruption of Galunggung was destructive and killed 68 people. It also raised awareness about the dangers that ash clouds pose to aviation. British Airways Flight 9, a 747, accidentally flew into an ash cloud at night. This caused damage to the exterior of the plane and caused all 4 engines to fail. For 16 minutes, the plane descended 7,500m. It dropped from an altitude of 11,500m to an altitude of 4,000m. Eventually, the crew were able to restart the engines and glide out of the ash cloud. The plane safely made an emergency landing in Jakarta.

A month later, a Singapore Airlines plane experienced a similar situation. 3 of the 4 engines failed and the plane dropped 2,400m. The crew was able to restart one of the engines and make an emergency landing in Jakarta.

[HurricaneBill]

1983
Volcano: Colo (Una Una)
Location: Indonesia
VEI: 4

The volcano Colo makes up the island of Una Una. At 507m, it is a rather low altitude volcano with a 2km wide caldera. Inside the caldera is a small central cone. When Colo (Una Una) began to show signs of activity, the decision was made to permanently evacuate the island. Shortly after the last residents of the island were evacuated, the volcano erupted. Pyroclastic flows swept the entire island. The islanders were provided with nearby land to rebuild their villages.

[HurricaneBill]

1986
Volcano: Mt. Augustine (This was Augustine's 2nd VEI4 eruption since 1900)
Location: USA (Alaska)
VEI: 4

Augustine's 1986 eruption disrupted air traffic and deposited ash in Anchorage.

[HurricaneBill]

1986
Volcano: Chikurachki
Location: Russia (Kuril Islands)
VEI: 4

Frequently active, Chikurachki is the highest volcano on Paramushir Island. Although activity is normally Strombolian, occasionally a Plinian eruption will occur. The 1986 eruption was Plinian.

[HurricaneBill]

1987
Volcano: Kliuchevskoi (This was Kliuchevskoi's 2nd VEI4 eruption since 1900)
Location: Russia (Kamchatka Peninsula)
VEI: 4

Kliuchevskoi had begun erupting in late 1986, but the most explosive eruptions occurred in February 1987.

[HurricaneBill]

The 1990s had 6 eruptions rated VEI4 or higher. (4 VEI4s; 1 VEI5; 1 VEI6)

1990
Volcano: Kelud (This was Kelud's 4th VEI4 eruption since 1900)
Location: Indonesia
VEI: 4

The eruption of Kelud killed 35 people. In 2007, Kelud had a VEI2 eruption. Although nobody was killed in that eruption, it caused a lava dome to grow in place of the crater lake.