March 29, 1982 Eruption of El Chichon
El Chichon in Mexico erupted on March 29, 1982 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 5. The eruption killed 1,879 people.
Where it erupted
El Chichon, Mexico, with its other significant eruptions.
The eruption
- Date
- March 29, 1982
- Volcano
- El Chichon, tuff cone
- Country
- Mexico
- Volcanic Explosivity Index
- 5, very large (eruption column over 25 km)
- Killed by
- Pyroclastic flows, surges and direct blasts; Tephra (ash, bombs, lapilli, steam blasts); Mudflows and lahars; Seismic, or volcanic earthquake (tectonic earthquake deaths excluded)
- Earthquake
- Yes: the earthquake with it
- Location
- 17.360° N, 93.230° W
The toll
- Deaths
- 1,879
- Missing
- 1,755
- Damage
- $3.3 million
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.
1,755 missing and 124 dead mostly in pyroclastic flows. Other estimates range up to 2,000. Two caretakers at dam construction killed by lahar, 11 killed when dam created by pyroclastic flow broke. Government sources list 187 fatalities (including 4/04), but do not include missing persons. Most of casualties on N side were due to fires started by incandescent tephra and building collapse due to earthquakes.
Reference #1250 $3.3 million damage.
Reference#13997 42 dead $117 million in damage
Other significant eruptions of El Chichon
More
Every eruption in 1982The 1900sEl ChichonEarthquakes near El ChichonThis 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 3518.