Volcano in Papua New Guinea
Rabaul volcano: eruption status today
Updated
No eruption of Rabaul is being reported right now Last eruption: 1964 or later; last significant eruption 1994 (NOAA NCEI). Note: 1 satellite hot spot within 10 km in the latest FIRMS data.
Live status of Rabaul: whether it is erupting now, satellite hot spots, earthquakes around it, and what an eruption would mean for nearby cities and flights.
- Status now
- No open report
- Last eruption
- 1964 or later last significant: 1994
- Elevation
- 688 m 2,257 ft
- Type
- Pyroclastic shield
- Earthquakes within 50 km
- 0 past 30 days (USGS)
- Hot spots within 10 km
- 1 latest NASA FIRMS VIIRS data
- Nearest city
- Port Moresby 805 km SW
Is Rabaul erupting right now?
There is no open NASA EONET event for Rabaul right now. NOAA NCEI dates its most recent eruption to 1964 or later, and the last eruption in its significant-eruption database was in 1994. Volcano observatories can raise alert levels before an eruption starts, so check the national observatory for the current alert level.
NASA FIRMS shows 1 thermal hot spot within 10 km of the summit in the latest VIIRS satellite passes (strongest 1.2 MW fire radiative power). Hot spots on a volcano can be lava, a glowing vent or ordinary vegetation fires; satellites cannot tell them apart on their own.
Earthquakes near Rabaul
USGS has no earthquake within 50 km of Rabaul in the past 30 days. Outside the United States USGS mainly lists quakes above about M4, so small volcanic tremors recorded by the local observatory will not appear here.
About Rabaul
Rabaul is a pyroclastic shield in New Britain-SW Pac, Papua New Guinea, rising to 688 m (2,257 ft). NOAA NCEI classes its eruptive history as "Historical".
Shield volcanoes have broad, gentle slopes built by fluid lava flows; eruptions are usually effusive (lava fountains and flows) rather than explosive.
The volcano is remote: the nearest city in our list is Port Moresby, 805 km away.
Flights and volcanic ash
No major hub airport is within 400 km (the closest is Brisbane, 2575 km away), but ash clouds from explosive eruptions can drift for thousands of kilometres along flight routes.
Volcanic Ash Advisory Centres (VAACs) issue the official ash advisories that airlines and air traffic control follow.
Other volcanoes in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea has 16 volcanoes on this site that erupted since 1900 or are active now, 1 of them with an open NASA activity report today. The closest other one is Ulawun, 131 km away.
Nearby volcanoes
Volcanoes in Papua New Guinea
More
Data: NOAA NCEI Volcano Locations, NASA EONET (open volcano events), USGS earthquakes, NASA FIRMS (VIIRS hot spots), Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program.