October 10, 1974 Eruption of Fuego

Name: October 10, 1974 Eruption of Fuego
Start: 1974-10-10
Location: Fuego, Guatemala

October 10, 1974 · VEI 4 · Deaths: few

Fuego in Guatemala erupted on October 10, 1974 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 4.

Where it erupted

Fuego, Guatemala, with its other significant eruptions.

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The eruption

Date: October 10, 1974
Volcano: Fuego, stratovolcano
Country: Guatemala
Volcanic Explosivity Index: 4, large (eruption column 10 to 25 km)
Killed by: Tephra (ash, bombs, lapilli, steam blasts); Mudflows and lahars
Location: 14.473° N, 90.880° W

The toll

Deaths: Few (about 1 to 50)
Damage: Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
Houses destroyed: Many (101 to 1,000)

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.

Deaths caused by a shower of bombs. 2-3 killed by hot water and mud. Although there were few casualties, thousands abandoned their houses, many of which were destroyed by the weight of ash.

Other significant eruptions of Fuego

Every eruption in 1974 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 3574.