Volcanic case studies

Composite volcano, destructive margin. North American plate boundary being subducted under Caribbean plate.

Short term effects:

• £1 billion in loss to homes.
• Plymouth (capital) under 12m of mud and ash
• 19 people died, with 7 injured.
• Damaged 80% of city, destroying 20 villages and 2/3 homes destroyed

Long term effects:

• population decine- 8,000 of 12,000 inhabitants left.
• 50% of nursing staff left
• decline in tourism.

• Disaster Management coordinating agency 2008- hazard level management system set up
• UK £17 million in emergency aid, temparary buildings, water purification (prevent disease)
• Montserrat observatory predict future eruptions
• UK- £41 million long term aid to develop north of island.
• 2005 'Geralds' airport built costing £11 billion
• New emergency jetty and port built, 300 passenger ferry that shuttles to Antigua.
• Successful monitoring of Chances Peak and with UK gov support set up exclusion zones- 5 zones and 2 maritime zones, access was managed and controlled by national disaster prepardness and response advisotory comittee.

• Volcano studies largely ignored
• No disaster manamgement plan- slow response
• 1990s key infrastructure built in south of idealnd so was destroyed in event.

• Composite cone volcano, periodic explosive eruptions. Convergent plate between african plate and eursian plate.

Short term effects:

• Traffic disruption
• Tephra falls, ash falling covered everything on island, made it difficult ot breathe
• 2002- Ski station was destroyed.

• 1869- walls built around city to keep lava out
• 1991-93 attempts to stem flow, 4 concrete barriers, explosives and artificial channel
• Hazard zones around Etna, protected high value institutions, alter local flow diverted to stop movement of lava.
• Modify loss by warning systems, preparing civil defence and implementing land use planning measures and gov supported insurance
• INGV monitored volcanoes for 20 years with permenant network of remote sensors connected to real time radio and TV
• Geochemical mointoring programmes test gas/ fluid emmissions to help predict erupstions and warn of future eruptions.
• Remote sensing to detect activity and also use thermal imagery to detect fractures that are potential pathways for magma to reach surface.