Mount Unzen (雲仙岳, Unzen-dake) is an active volcanic group of several overlapping stratovolcanoes, near the city of Shimabara, Nagasaki on the island of Kyushu, Japan's southernmost main island.
In 1792, the collapse of one of its several lava domes triggered a megatsunami that killed 14,524 people in Japan's worst volcanic-related disaster. The volcano was most recently active from 1990 to 1995, and a large eruption in 1991 generated a pyroclastic flow that killed 43 people, including three volcanologists.
Its highest peaks are Fugen-dake (普賢岳) at 1,359 metres (4,459 ft) and Heisei-shinzan (平成新山) at 1,486 metres (4,875 ft). The latter emerged during the eruptions of the early, eponymous Heisei era (1989–2019).
1991Jun, 3
Mount Unzen erupts in Kyūshū, Japan, killing 43 people, all of them either researchers or journalists.
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Events on 1991
- 15Jan
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The United Nations deadline for the withdrawal of Iraqi forces from occupied Kuwait expires, preparing the way for the start of Operation Desert Storm. - 16Jan
Gulf War
Coalition Forces go to war with Iraq, beginning the Gulf War. - 17Jan
Operation Desert Storm
Gulf War: Operation Desert Storm begins early in the morning. Iraq fires eight Scud missiles into Israel in an unsuccessful bid to provoke Israeli retaliation. - 9Apr
Soviet Union
Georgia declares independence from the Soviet Union - 5Oct
Jakarta
An Indonesian military transport crashes after takeoff from Jakarta killing 137.