April 5, 1973 Eruption of Cerro Hudson
Cerro Hudson in Chile erupted on April 5, 1973. The eruption killed 2 people.
Where it erupted
Cerro Hudson, Chile, with its other significant eruptions.
The eruption
- Date
- April 5, 1973
- Volcano
- Cerro Hudson, stratovolcano
- Country
- Chile
- Killed by
- Mudflows and lahars
- Location
- 45.900° S, 72.970° W
The toll
- Deaths
- 2
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Few (about 1 to 50)
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.
Card 1603 (11 April 1973) Eruption on 5 April causes mud avalanches that bury two people and hundreds of animals
The Mt. Hudson volcano erupted on 5 April 1973 and showered ash over a 25-mile area. The eruption was reportedly characterized by a "giant fireball" and thick columns of smoke, as well as the ejection of lava and rocks. Two shepherd and hundreds of animals were buried by mud avalanches in the Huemules Valley.
Card 1645 (24 May 1973) Temperature rise, not eruption, caused damaging April lahar
The following information was received by cable from Santiago on 24 May 1973. "The last airplane reconnaisance flight on April 14 confirms that Mount Hudson has not been active since the 1971 eruption. Fumarolic activity in the central area of the 9-km-wide crater was observed. The ice cover melted last April producing a lahar which flowed down the Huemules and Cupquelan valleys destroying property, farmhouses, and cattle, finally reaching the sea 70 km away. A rise in temperature produced a 70% melting of the ice cover in the crater area."
(above from reference #2432)
Other significant eruptions of Cerro Hudson
More
Every eruption in 1973The 1900sCerro HudsonEarthquakes near Cerro HudsonThis 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 6224.