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The residents were allowed back a few months later but, on June 25, 1997 a massive eruption produced pyroclastic surges that killed 19 people and reached nearly to the island's airport. Plymouth was again evacuated. Between August 4-8, a further series of eruptions destroyed approximately 80% of the city, burying it under 4.6 feet of ash. The hot material burned many of the buildings, making inhabitation nearly impossible for a sizable portion of the residents. The pyroclastic flows, lava, ash and other volcanic rock types were in general compact and had a density similar to that of concrete. The removal of the overburden would have required the use of explosives, bulldozers and other resources too expensive for widespread use. Furthermore, it was anticipated that the rock underneath the hardened mud and lava would have been scorched and left completely non-arable by the heat of the pyroclastic flows.
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North America
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