Plymouth, Montserrat only ghost town that serves as the capital of a political territory. Beginning in July 1995, a series of huge eruptions at the Soufrière Hills volcano sent pyroclastic flows and ash falls across a wide area of southern Montserrat including the capital, Plymouth. It was immediately clear that the town was in grave danger. On 21 August 1995, tephra fell on Plymouth, and in December residents were evacuated as a precaution. Residents were allowed back a few months later, but on 25 June 1997, a massive eruption produced pyroclastic surges that killed 19 people and reached nearly to the island's
Devastation Trail and the intensity of the earthquakes also increased. By nightfall, the earthquakes stopped, and the eruption began. The fissure eruption produced fountains of lava which cascaded to the floor of the crater some 100 m below the erupting fissure. Forest fires were also noted. Over the next few days, the lava fountains became higher and higher, eventually reaching a height of more than 500 meters. Erupting pumice started building a new cinder cone that was later named " Puu Puai", (gushing hill). A lava lake also developed on the crater floor. The eruption produced both Pele's hair, the geological term