Volcano: Past Incidents

Throughout the last century, there have been several notable volcanic eruptions around the world.

1902
Mt. Pelée on the French Caribbean island of Martinique erupted and the village of St. Pierre was ravaged by earthquakes, ash fall, and sulfurous gas.
1980
Mount St. Helens erupted in Washington, USA, and killed 57 people. It triggered massive landslide toward Coldwater Ridge and Spirit Lake.
1985
The Nevado del Ruiz, an active stratovolcano and Colombia, erupted and generated a mudflow down its adjacent valleys. The deadly mudflow engulfed the village of Armero – killing over 23,000 people in a few short minutes.
1986
A cloudy mixture of carbon dioxide (CO2) and water droplets rose from Lake Nyos, Cameroon. This deadly mist swept down nearby valleys and killed 1700 people, thousands of cattle, and many more animals.
1943
A volcano in Paricutin, a city 200 miles west of Mexico City, begin to erupt after a series of rumbling noises and "rotten egg" smells. This volcano maintained its activity for nine years and finally became extinct in 1952. It became an important contribution to science as scientists were able to observe a complete life cycle of a volcano.

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