May 26, 1949 Eruption of Purace

Name: May 26, 1949 Eruption of Purace
Start: 1949-05-26
Location: Purace, Colombia

May 26, 1949 · VEI 2 · 17 deaths

Purace in Colombia erupted on May 26, 1949 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 2. The eruption killed 17 people.

Where it erupted

Purace, Colombia, with its other significant eruptions.

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The eruption

Date: May 26, 1949
Volcano: Purace, stratovolcano
Country: Colombia
Volcanic Explosivity Index: 2, moderate (eruption column 1 to 5 km)
Killed by: Tephra (ash, bombs, lapilli, steam blasts)
Location: 2.320° N, 76.400° W

The toll

Deaths: 17

Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.

What the record says

NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.

University students killed by block ejection as they attempted to reach the summit.

Other significant eruptions of Purace

May 25, 1885VEI 3 · Deaths: some

Every eruption in 1949 The 1900s Purace Earthquakes near Purace This day in weather history

Sources

Volcanoes and significant eruptions from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. Volcano numbers are the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program’s. NCEI event 3851.