September 14, 1971 Eruption of Fuego

Name: September 14, 1971 Eruption of Fuego
Start: 1971-09-14
Location: Fuego, Guatemala

September 14, 1971 · VEI 3 · 10 deaths

Fuego in Guatemala erupted on September 14, 1971 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 3. The eruption killed 10 people.

Where it erupted

Fuego, Guatemala, with its other significant eruptions.

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The eruption

Date: September 14, 1971
Volcano: Fuego, stratovolcano
Country: Guatemala
Volcanic Explosivity Index: 3, moderate to large (eruption column 3 to 15 km)
Killed by: Mudflows and lahars; Tephra (ash, bombs, lapilli, steam blasts)
Location: 14.473° N, 90.880° W

The toll

Deaths: 10

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.

BVE gives 10 killed of unstated causes. CSLP gives 2 killed in San Pedro Yepocapa by about 30 cm ashfall.

Other significant eruptions of Fuego

Every eruption in 1971 The 1900s Fuego Earthquakes near Fuego 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 3573.