April 7, 1995 Eruption of Pacaya

Name: April 7, 1995 Eruption of Pacaya
Start: 1995-04-07
Location: Pacaya, Guatemala

April 7, 1995 · VEI 3 · 1 death · 1 house destroyed

Pacaya in Guatemala erupted on April 7, 1995 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 3. The eruption killed 1 person.

Where it erupted

Pacaya, Guatemala, with its other significant eruptions.

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The eruption

Date: April 7, 1995
Volcano: Pacaya, complex volcano
Country: Guatemala
Volcanic Explosivity Index: 3, moderate to large (eruption column 3 to 15 km)
Killed by: Mudflows and lahars
Location: 14.382° N, 90.601° W

The toll

Deaths: 1
Damage: Limited (under about $1 million)
Houses destroyed: 1

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.

A lahar completely covered a house and killed a little girl in Los Rios. The inhabitants were evacuated as 25-35-cm-thick volcanic sand was deposited over the village. As a result of a hazard study, many villagers had been previously evacuated. (reference #2432)

Other significant eruptions of Pacaya

Every eruption in 1995 The 1900s Pacaya Earthquakes near Pacaya 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 3608.