Which Caribbean volcano’s 1995 eruption buried Plymouth, the capital of Montserrat?

Soufrière Hills is the Caribbean volcano whose 1995 eruption buried Plymouth, the capital of Montserrat.

Soufrière Hills began a major eruptive episode in July 1995 after centuries of dormancy. Explosive activity, ashfall, pyroclastic flows, and lava-dome collapses repeatedly affected southern Montserrat. The escalating danger led to evacuations, and Plymouth was eventually abandoned after much of the city was covered by volcanic deposits.

The eruption transformed Montserrat’s geography and population distribution. The southern part of the island became an exclusion zone, while Brades functioned as the de facto administrative centre. Activity continued intermittently for years, including a major dome collapse in 2010.

The name can cause confusion because Soufrière is also used for volcanoes on Guadeloupe and Saint Vincent. Soufrière Hills specifically refers to Montserrat’s active volcano, whose eruption remains one of the defining volcanic disasters of the modern Caribbean.