January 20, 1999 Eruption of Soufriere Hills

Name: January 20, 1999 Eruption of Soufriere Hills
Start: 1999-01-20
Location: Soufriere Hills, Montserrat

January 20, 1999 · VEI 3

Soufriere Hills in Montserrat erupted on January 20, 1999 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 3. It caused a tsunami.

Where it erupted

Soufriere Hills, Montserrat, with its other significant eruptions.

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The eruption

Date: January 20, 1999
Volcano: Soufriere Hills, stratovolcano
Country: Montserrat
Volcanic Explosivity Index: 3, moderate to large (eruption column 3 to 15 km)
Tsunami: Yes: the tsunami it caused
Location: 16.720° N, 62.180° W

The toll

The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this eruption.

What the record says

NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.

Debris avalanches and pyroclastic flows associated with an eruption of Soufriere Hills Volcano travelled down the Tar River valley, reached the sea, and generated a local tsunami.

Other significant eruptions of Soufriere Hills

Every eruption in 1999 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 4708.