Volcanic Activity: Hazards to People
Volcanic activity can present a hazard to people and property in various ways and with varying degrees of severity. Whether or not these represent a significant danger to people is dependant on how well prepared the area surrounding the volcano is. The level of preparation is often linked to the overall wealth of the country which the hazard is in. This also impacts how effectively the volcanic even is managed before and after the eruption takes place. The timing of an eruption throughout the day, week or year can greatly change the number of deaths which occur. It is also worth mentioning that the intensity of a volcanic eruption has a great impact on its potential to damage people and property.
It is commonly thought that . Iceland is situated on the Mid Atlantic Ridge in the Atlantic Ocean, the mountain chain created by the North American and Eurasian plates moving away from each other. As magma rises to fill the gap created by the plates moving apart, it solidifies creating a mountain chain. In some places the mountain chain rises above the level of the sea to form volcanic islands. In the case of Iceland, volcanic activity is something which occurs frequently. For example in January 1973, the island of Heimaey was the focus of a fissure opening and releasing vast quantities of lava and ash were erupted. As Iceland is a relatively rich country, it had the resources to evacuate the nearby port town of Vestmannaeyjar (population 5,300) in under 7 hours. Furthermore, the state had the resources to pump water onto the lava flows, solidifying up to 20,000m3 of lava every hour. This prevented much of the town from being completely destroyed. This shows that in rich countries, it is very much possible to evacuate an area and prevent all human deaths.
In contrast, however, in 1783 the Laki fissure opened, releasing lava which covered 565km2 of land, which itself presented little risk, just 40 farmstead were damaged. However poisonous gases killed half of the cattle
It is commonly thought that . Iceland is situated on the Mid Atlantic Ridge in the Atlantic Ocean, the mountain chain created by the North American and Eurasian plates moving away from each other. As magma rises to fill the gap created by the plates moving apart, it solidifies creating a mountain chain. In some places the mountain chain rises above the level of the sea to form volcanic islands. In the case of Iceland, volcanic activity is something which occurs frequently. For example in January 1973, the island of Heimaey was the focus of a fissure opening and releasing vast quantities of lava and ash were erupted. As Iceland is a relatively rich country, it had the resources to evacuate the nearby port town of Vestmannaeyjar (population 5,300) in under 7 hours. Furthermore, the state had the resources to pump water onto the lava flows, solidifying up to 20,000m3 of lava every hour. This prevented much of the town from being completely destroyed. This shows that in rich countries, it is very much possible to evacuate an area and prevent all human deaths.
In contrast, however, in 1783 the Laki fissure opened, releasing lava which covered 565km2 of land, which itself presented little risk, just 40 farmstead were damaged. However poisonous gases killed half of the cattle