Download
1 / 59
590 likes | 594 Views
NOTABLE EVENTS AND DISASTERS OF 2014 HIGHLIGHTS OF VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS. Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, Vienna, Virginia, USA .
E N D
NOTABLE EVENTS AND DISASTERS OF 2014 HIGHLIGHTS OF VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, Vienna, Virginia, USA
VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS are awesome manifestations of heat flowing non-explosively as a result of mantle hot spots (e.g., Hawaii and Iceland) or erupting explosively in subduction zones (e.g., the Pacific Rim).
HAZARDS EXPOSURE VULNERABILITY LOCATION ELEMENTS OF RISK RISK
VOLCANO HAZARDS CAN HAVE FAR REACHING IMPACTS • VERTICAL PLUME (can affect jet aircraft) • ASH AND TEPHRA • LATERAL BLAST • PYROCLASTIC CLOUDS, BURSTS, AND FLOWS
VOLCANO HAZARDS CAN HAVE FAR REACHING IMPACTS • LAVA FLOWS • LAHARS (can bury villages) • EARTHQUAKES (related to movement of lava) • “VOLCANIC WINTER” (causing famine and mass extinctions)
CAUSES OF RISK LATERAL BLAST PYROCLASTIC FLOWS FLYING DEBRIS ASH PLUME AND GASES VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS LAVA FLOWS CASE HISTORIES LAHARS TOXIC GASES
AIRLINES ON RED ALERT AFTER VOLCANIC ERUPTION IN ICELANDAugust 23, 2014
WHAT HAPPENED? • After a week of seismic activity rattled the uninhabited area 200 miles (320 kilometers) east of the capital of Reykjavik with thou-sands of earthquakes, Iceland's Bardarbunga volcano began erupting Saturday (Aug. 23rd) under the country's largest glacier.
WHAT HAPPENED? • An Iceland volcanologist said it was not clear when, or if, the eruption would melt through the ice — which is between 100 and 400 meters (330 feet and 1,300 feet) thick — and send steam and ash into the air.
WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN? • She said it could take up to a day for the ice to melt — or the eruption might remain contained beneath Europe's largest glacier.
OFFICIALS TAKE ACTION • On Saturday, Icelandic authorities declared a no-fly zone of 100 nautical miles by 140 nautical miles around the eruption, but did not shut down flights in the rest of the country's airspace.
Officials Remembered the Eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull Volcano in Southern Iceland MARCH 20, 2010
The 2010 eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokul volcano produced an ash cloud that caused a week of international aviation chaos, with more than 100,000 flights cancelled.
MOUNT ONTAKEERUPTS AFTER 35 YEARS OF DORMANCY ONTAKE, ONE OF 100 ACTIVE VOLCANOES IN JAPAN, ERUPTED A LITTLE BEFORE NOON ON SEPTEMBER 27, 2014
PHYSICAL IMPACTS • With a sound likened to thunder, the 10,065 foot (3,067 m) high volcano spewed large white plumes of gas and ash high into the atmosphere and blanketed the top and surrounding area with volcanic debris and ash reaching thicknesses of 50 cm or more.
LOCAL IMPACTS The mountain is a popular climbing destination, and an estimated 303 people were initially trapped on the slopes. At least 36 were killed; most made their way down by Saturday night, but the injured, unable to descend the 10,062-foot mountain on their own, stayed in mountain lodges.
THE REST OF THE STORY • On Sunday, a large plume of ash continued to rise from the ash-covered summit of Mount Ontake. • A convoy of red fire trucks, sirens blaring, rescue workers on foot, and helicopters headed into the restricted zone around the mountain for search and rescue operations.
Sunday: Rescue workers had to suspend S and R operations due to toxic gases and volcano-induced seismic activity
A HORRIFIC SCENE • Rescue crews found harrowing situations near the mountaintop; the typical scenes were of victims buried in ash with their arms and legs emerging from gray volcanic dust, or of bodies pressed between rocks where they were trying to find shelter.
Tuesday: S and R operations were suspended as Mount Ontake continued shaking violently and coughing out toxic steam.
LAVA FLOW—A SILENT VOLCANIC HAZARD IN HAWAII Thursday, October 30, 2014Monday, November 10, 2014
WHAT HAPPENED? • The lava from Kilauea, a non-explosive volcano, that has been erupting for years, emerged from a vent in June. • Traveling slowly, it entered Pahoa on Oct. 26, when it crossed a country road at the edge of town.
PAHOA HAWAII • A contingent of National Guard troops was dispatched to Pahoa on Thursday, October 30, to provide security to the Big Island community that was being threatened by the slow-moving river of molten lava creeping slowly towards the town's center.
WHAT HAPPENED? • The leading edge of the molten rock stalled at the edge of town on Oct. 30, but lava began to break away at several other upslope spots.. • Between October 30 and November 10, the flow smothered part of a cemetery, and burned down a garden shed, tires, some metal materials, and vegetation.
WHAT HAPPENED? • The 200 degree molten rock set fire to the first house in Pahoa around midday on Monday, November 10th . • The house was allowed to burn as firefighters took actions to prevent its spread to other houses. • The home's occupants had already left the residence.
WHAT IS NEXT? • Officials were working on safe evacuation routes and plans. • Many residents had evacuated. • Having put their belongings in storage, others were prepared to leave for a friend’s house, or elsewhere, if necessary when the lava got closer.
THE REASONS FOR A DISASTER TO OCCUR. . . • The community is UN-PREPARED for what will likely happen, not to mention the low-probability of occurrence—high-probability-of-adverse- consequences event.
