I don't know where I'm a gonna go when the volcano blows These words, suggested in a song by Jimmy Buffet in his 1979 Volcano album, probably reflect the concerns of many people living near active volcanoes. Volcanoes are beneficial to humans living on or near them. They produce fertile soil, and provide valuable minerals, water reservoirs, geothermal resources, and scenic beauty. But volcanoes can be very dangerous. Where can a person go to be safe from an erupting volcano? What types of volcanic hazards might they face? These questions are difficult to answer because there are many types of volcanic eruptions which produce different types of volcanic hazards.
Types of Volcanic EruptionsWhen Mount St. Helens erupted on May 18, 1980, red hot lava did not spew out of the volcano and pour down its flanks. This perception of a volcanic eruption is a common one and is probably due in part to pictures seen on television or in books of the beautiful lava flows and lava fountains in Hawai'i. The type of eruptions in Hawai'i are known as hawaiian volcanism and are far less dangerous than the eruptions produced by Mount St. Helens. It is important to know what type of an eruption a volcano is most likely to produce so that the types of hazards produced by such an eruption can be identified. Knowledge of these types of hazards, will help determine where a person would need to go to be safe during a volcanic eruption.Volcanic eruptions can be placed into two general categories: those that are explosive, such as at Mount St. Helens, and those that are effusive, such as in Hawai'i. The most active volcano in the world, Kilauea Volcano on the big island of Hawai'i, is generally a nonexplosive volcano (though there have been occasions when it erupted explosively). Eruptions from it normally result in gently flowing lava flows, spatter cones, and lava fountains. Another type of nonexplosive volcanism is flood basalts. Lava flows from this type of eruption are extruded from fissures and cover vast areas. These nonexplosive eruptions are the least dangerous type of volcanic eruption since people rarely get killed by them (Francis, 1993). However, they are devastating and may have global consequences.Many eruptions are explosive in nature. They produce fragmental rocks from erupting lava and surrounding country rock. Some eruptions are highly explosive and produce fine volcanic ash that rises many kilometers into the atmosphere in enormous eruption columns. Explosive activity also causes widespread ash fall, pyroclastic flows, debris avalanches, landslides, pyroclastic surges, and lahars. Explosivity is usually the result of gases expanding within a viscous lava. Another mechanism for explosions at volcanoes occurs when surface water or ground water enters a magma chamber. These eruptions are likely when a volcano occurs in a wet area or in the sea.
What is a Volcanic Hazard?A volcanic hazard refers to any potentially dangerous volcanic process (e.g. lava flows, pyroclastic flows, ash). A volcanic risk is any potential loss or damage as a result of the volcanic hazard that might be incurred by persons, property, etc. or which negatively impacts the productive capacity/sustainability of a population. Risk not only includes the potential monetary and human losses, but also includes a population's vulnerability. The definitions of hazard and risk are not well-defined. For a more complete discussion of the definitions, please click here.Tilling and Lipman (1993) estimate that 500 million people will be at risk from volcanic hazards by the year 2000. In the past 500 years, over 200,000 people have lost their lives due to volcanic eruptions (Tilling, 1980). An average of 845 people died each year between 1900 and 1986 from volcanic hazards. The number of deaths for these years is far greater than the number of deaths for previous centuries (Tilling, 1991). The reason behind this increase is not due to increased volcanism, but due, instead, to an increase in the amount of people populating the flanks of active volcanoes and valley areas near those volcanoes (Tilling, 1991 and Hall, 1991). Types of Volcanic HazardsThe following is a list of volcanic hazards. Click on the one that you are interested in learning about.About 3 volcanoes erupt per minute.
mostly every 100 years
2 1/2
A volcano can erupt twice or even an infinite number of times. Most volcanoes erupt many times over their lives.
about 20
There is no fixed length to an erruption, it varies from volcano to volcano. a volcano can erupt in days or more than its depend on its manner .
It depends on the volcano. Some volcanoes can erupt very often, while others will only erupt once every hundred years.
50 to 70 volcanoes erupt every year
About 60 volcanoes erupt each year.
An unlimited amount of volcanoes can erupt at once
NONE
A volcano can erupt twice or even an infinite number of times. Most volcanoes erupt many times over their lives.
about 20
There is no fixed length to an erruption, it varies from volcano to volcano. a volcano can erupt in days or more than its depend on its manner .
When a volcano is active it will erupt. These volcanoes might take many years to erupt but will still erupt.
As many as it wants. Some volcanoes erupt often, some infrequently
Yes. Many volcanoes erupt more than once during their "lifetime." Some volcanoes are hundreds of thousands, even millions of yeas old and erupt periodically.
Many are in Europe.
Just lickmy l3ft or >(Direction) nut
Many are in Europe.