April 30, 1996 Eruption of Popocatepetl
Popocatepetl in Mexico erupted on April 30, 1996 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 3. The eruption killed 5 people.
Where it erupted
Popocatepetl, Mexico, with its other significant eruptions.
The eruption
- Date
- April 30, 1996
- Volcano
- Popocatepetl, stratovolcano
- Country
- Mexico
- Volcanic Explosivity Index
- 3, moderate to large (eruption column 3 to 15 km)
- Location
- 19.023° N, 98.622° W
The toll
- Deaths
- 5
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 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.
Lava Volume: > 2.8 x 107 m3. Eruptive Characteristics:
Central vent eruption,
Explosive eruption,
Pyroclastic flow(s),
Lava flow(s),
Lava dome extrusion,
Fatalities,
Damage (land, property, etc.),
Mudflow(s) (lahars),
Evacuation.
On 30 April [1996] at 1319 a major explosion from the dome dispersed ejecta to the NE. Maximum clast diameter was 0.5 cm in the village of Xalitzintla, ~12 km NE, and sand-sized ash fell in Tlaxcala, 60 km away... Five climbers who ascended the volcano in the early morning hours of 30 April were killed by the explosion later that day. On 2 May the climbers were found a few hundred meters below the NE crater rim. Their corpses, recovered by Civil Protection authorities, exhibited 3rd-degree burns and severe injuries caused by contusions. Climbing the volcano has been officially prohibited since the current eruption began, and signs were posted at Paso de Cortes. During a helicopter flight on 3 May a depression was observed on the surface of the new dome near the SE inner wall of the main crater. Streaks of gravel and boulders running down the NE outer slopes of the volcano were 10-20-m wide and a few hundred meters long, and very close to the route of ascent taken by most climbers.
(above from reference #2432)
Other significant eruptions of Popocatepetl
More
Every eruption in 1996The 1900sPopocatepetlEarthquakes near PopocatepetlThis 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 3502.