Eruption | Area Impacted | Details | Reference |
---|---|---|---|
1886 Tarawera eruption | Bay of Plenty, New Zealand | An estimated 20,000 livestock were evacuated from areas receiving >10 mm of ashfall. | |
1973 Eldfell eruption | Heimaey, Iceland | Within 6 hours of the eruption nearly all of Heimaey's 5,300 residents had been evacuated to the Icelandic mainland. Several hundred sheep were evacuated to the mainland, whilst remaining cattle and poultry were slaughtered | |
1976-77 Soufrière eruption | Guadeloupe, West Indies | Approximately 73,500 people were temporarily evacuated, mostly from Plymouth, the island's capital. | |
1980 Mt St Helens eruption | Washington, United States | 35 property owners at Spirit Lake evacuated and an exclusion zone established. | |
1986 Nevado del Ruiz eruption | Tomila, Columbia | 15,000 people evacuated in low-lying areas due to lahar hazards (in the aftermath of the destruction of Armero town by lahars following a small eruption in 1985). | |
1990-1995 Unzen eruption | Shimabara, Japan | At the peak of the crisis, over 160,000 people used short-term evacuation accommodation, and nearly 5,669 used temporary housing for a period of up to four and half years due to pyroclastic flow hazards. | |
1991 Pinatubo eruption | Luzon, Philippines | Over 200,000 people were evacuated from around Pinatubo due to pyroclastic flow, heavy ash fall and lahar hazards. Significant subsequent lahar hazards resulted in on-going evacuations by returnees. | |
1995-present Soufriere Hills eruption | Montserrat, West Indies | Approximately two thirds of the ~12,000 island's inhabitants were evacuated between 1995-97. On-going activity has led to their long-term displacement. | |
1999 Tungurahua eruption | Tungurahua, Ecuador | Enforced evacuation of the entire population (16,000) from Baños due to potential pyroclastic flow, lahar and ashfall hazards. | |
2002 Nyiragongo eruption | Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo | Lava flows forced the evacuation of ~300,000 people from Goma city and surrounds and left 120,000 homeless. | |
2006 Merapi eruption | Yogyakarta, Indonesia | Over 20,000 people evacuated from western and southern flanks of Merapi due to pyroclastic flow and lahar hazards. Livestock remained on farms within the evacuation zone and tended to by farmers travelling in and out during the day. Many farmers attempted to sell livestock following feed destruction and isolation from their farms. | |
2008-present Chaiten eruption | Northern Patagonia, Chile | Preventative evacuation of ~5,000 people occurred from proximal areas due to potential pyroclastic flow and lahar hazards, particular Chaiten town. Some evacuation occurred in rural areas from heavy ashfall hazards. Over 20,000 cattle were evacuated from areas impacted by heavy ashfalls in the weeks following the eruption. |