A devastating pyroclastic flow on 25 June 1997 sweeps across the lower NE flank of Soufrière Hills volcano on Montserrat. More than two dozen people within the officially evacuated zone were killed. This eruption sent an ash plume to ~10 km altitude and produced pyroclastic flows and surges that overran both vacated and partly inhabited NE-flank settlements, destroying 100-150 houses in eight villages within the restricted zone. The pyroclastic flow traveled 4.5 km and almost reached the sea.

Photo by Paul Cole, 1997 (Montserrat Volcano Observatory).

This image is made available under the Creative Commons BY-NC 4.0 license terms.

Galleries: Pyroclastic Flows

Keywords: pyroclastic flow | pyroclastic density current (PDC) | lava dome | explosive eruption | block-and-ash flow | eruption | ash | human impacts

Soufrière Hills