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The main eruption was preceded by 5 days of minor activity observed since 15 January. People observed ash plumes, glowing volcanic bombs ejected, landslides and felt earthquakes. The government ignored these warnings and did not inform volcanologists nor suggest people to leave the area.
The paroxysmal phase of the eruption began at 10h40 local time on 21 January. Explosions generated a vertical eruption column that collapsed gravitationally into a fast-moving pyroclastic surge, that swept in all directions around the volcano. The surge, similar in its force to the lateral blast from Mt. St. Helens on 18 May 1980, d caused complete destruction in an area of 230 km2 and reached a maximum of 15 km distance to the north. Victims were found with their cloths stripped off by the force of the blast. At the Higaturu District Station, 10 km from Mt Lamington, a jeep was thrown into the trees and wedged between branches.
Australian geologist Taylor (1958), who studied the eruption in detail, identified an inner zone of total destruction, where the kinetic force and temperature of the pyroclastic flows causede total destruction, and an outer zone of partial destruction, where the kinetic energy of the flows had become less important and destruction was mainly due to the heat released by the surges.
Local topography influenced the effect and direction of the pyroclastic flows. Most went toward the northeast due to the geometry of the crater.