El Chichón

The 1982 eruption of El Chichón is the largest volcanic disaster in modern Mexican history.^[2] The powerful 1982 explosive eruptions of high-sulfur, anhydrite-bearing magma destroyed the summit lava dome and were accompanied by pyroclastic flows and surges that devastated an area extending about 8 km around the volcano.^[4] A total of 9 villages were completely destroyed, killing 1,900 people.^[2] A new 1-km-wide, 300-m-deep crater was created that now contains an acidic crater lake.^[4] The landscape was covered in ash up to 40 cm in depth.^[4] Over 24,000 km² of countryside was affected,^[4] devastating coffee, cocoa, banana crops, and cattle ranches. The eruption caused natural dams to form along the Rio Magdalena river, inducing lahars, which destroyed key infrastructure. The total damage caused by the 1982 eruption is believed to amount to $55 million^[2] (equivalent to $132 million in present-day US dollars).

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El Chichón