stratovolcano 1680 m / 5,512 ft
New Guinea (Papua New Guinea), -8.95°S / 148.15°E
Eruption list: 1951-1956
1951 catastrophic eruption on 21 January
A jeep impaled on broken tree trunks illustrates the destuctive power of the pyroclastic surges generated by Lamington's eruption on 21 January 1958. From Taylor (1958)
The eruption of Mt Lamington on Sunday 21 January 1951 was the greatest natural disaster on Australian-administered territory of Papua New Guinea. The eruption destroyed the northern half of the mountain and generated a massive pyroclastic surge, which killed more than 3500 people and destroyed dozens of villages. Survivors said "the smoke was seven miles high and the explosion was like an atom bomb or 1,000 block busters going off together" (Sydney Morning Herald, "N.G. DISASTER - DETAILS" 25 Jan 1958).
The administration was heavily accused of having ignored warnings and not reacted fast enough to prevent the scale of the disaster. The Melbourne Argus newspaper writes on its front page on 25 January 1951 "'.. they warned us too late'SAY WOMEN SURVIVORS" and reports some telephone interviews with survivors who felt that they had not been warned and informed in time. Similarly the Sydney Morning Herald's headline read "Delay in official warning criticised".
The strong demand for a public investigation of the tragedy was never granted by the administration. The District Commissioner, Mr. C. F. Cowley (who was killed during the eruption on Sunday) was quoted to have said a few days before the main explosion, "There is no loss of life nor is there any immediate danger." (Sydney Morning Herald, "N.G. DISASTER - DETAILS" 25 Jan 1958).
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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.
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