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8736 mega-eruption of Lake Taupo
VEI 9 mega eruption (USGS)
Taupo re-emerges from Lake Taupo during its super-eruption

Taupo re-emerges from Lake Taupo during its super-eruption
Volcano Taupo super-volcano
Date February 2, 8736
Time 1747 UTC
Eruption type Super-volcanic
Location Lake Taupo, NZ
Fatalities 1,537,216 deaths, 20 million injuries
Damages $12 trillion (8736 USD)
Tsunami' Yes, a mega-tsunami 600 meters high
Other impacts mega-tsunami 600 meters high, cooling of the earths atmosphere

The 8736 mega-eruption of Lake Taupo was only the 2nd case of a VEI 9 mega-eruption ever recorded, the other one being 67 million years ago. A mega eruption is a type of eruption that exceeds VEI 8, and they only happen every 65 million years on average, maning that they are extremely hard to predict and prepare for.

The mega-eruption began on February 2nd, when a huge spray of water signified that the eruption had begun. Over the next few days, the eruption rapidly built up a 500 meter cone in the middle of the cone, before it exploded 250 meters into the air when the eruption suddenly became the strongest volcanic eruption ever observed. This huge slab of volcano was thrown into the Pacific Ocean, where it set off a 600 meter mega-tsunami, the highest tsunami wave ever documented. This continued for the next several months, before the eruption finally ended on September 19th.

In the aftermath of the eruption, it was discovered that over 1.5 million people had been killed as a direct result of either the mega-eruption, or the mega-tsunami that followed soon afterwards. 20 million more people were injured as a result of the events that unfolded, and damages totaled an unbelievable $12 trillion, making it the deadliest natural disaster ever recorded, and one of the costliest on record as well at the time.

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