NO:2 This volcano gets to number two for its infamy, rather than its actual death toll – which was still impressively high at up to 25,000. When Vesuvius had its almighty eruption in AD79, it completely buried the town of Pompeii below, as well as devastating other nearby villages. The eruption column, which was a 20 mile tall spout of magma and rock, surged intermittently over twenty hours. Since then, the volcano has erupted over a dozen times, most recently in 1944, when several nearby villages were destroyed.