August 1, 1997 Eruption of Soufriere Hills

Name: August 1, 1997 Eruption of Soufriere Hills
Start: 1997-08-01
Location: Soufriere Hills, Montserrat

August 1, 1997 · VEI 3 · 2 deaths

Soufriere Hills in Montserrat erupted on August 1, 1997 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 3. The eruption killed 2 people.

Where it erupted

Soufriere Hills, Montserrat, with its other significant eruptions.

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The eruption

Date: August 1, 1997
Volcano: Soufriere Hills, stratovolcano
Country: Montserrat
Volcanic Explosivity Index: 3, moderate to large (eruption column 3 to 15 km)
Location: 16.720° N, 62.180° W

The toll

Deaths: 2

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.

Two local residents who had often entered the restricted area were killed by pyroclastic flows in Plymouth in late July or early August 1997. (reference #9675)

Other significant eruptions of Soufriere Hills

Every eruption in 1997 The 1900s Soufriere Hills Earthquakes near Soufriere Hills 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 4175.