The city of Pompeii is famous because it was destroyed in 79 CE when a nearby volcano, Mount Vesuvius, erupted, covering it in at least 19 feet (6 metres) of ash and other volcanic debris. The city's quick burial preserved it for centuries before its ruins were discovered in the late 16th century.

The most famous town wiped out by a volcano is Pompeii, which was buried under feet of volcanic ash and pumice during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Its sister city, Herculaneum, was also destroyed by the same event, though it was buried by pyroclastic flows that preserved the structures differently. In more modern history, the town of Saint-Pierre on the Caribbean island of Martinique was obliterated in 1902 by the eruption of Mount Pelée, killing nearly 30,000 residents in minutes. More recently, in 1985, the town of Armero in Colombia was devastated by a massive mudflow (lahar) triggered by the eruption of Nevado del Ruiz, resulting in one of the deadliest volcanic disasters in history. These events serve as somber reminders of the immense power of volcanic activity and have led to the development of sophisticated early warning systems and evacuation zones for modern communities living near active volcanoes like those in Hawaii or the Pacific Northwest.