remembering 2o10’s volcanic eruptions walter hays, global alliance for disaster reduction,...
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REMEMBERING 2O10’S VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS
Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, University of
North Carolina, USA
VOLCANOES are awesome manifestations of heat flowing as a result of hot spots (e.g., Hawaii and
Iceland) and movement along faults located in subduction zones (e.g., the Pacific Rim).
VOLCANOES are awesome manifestations of heat flowing as a result of hot spots (e.g., Hawaii and
Iceland) and movement along faults located in subduction zones (e.g., the Pacific Rim).
PLANET EARTH HAS 1,500 “VOLCANO LABORATORIES”
EACH VOLCANO HAS A UNIQUE ERUPTION HISTORY, WHICH
CONTAINS VALUABLE LESSONS ON DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
2010’S NOTABLE VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS
• ICELAND
March 20 and April 14, 2010
• INDONESIA
October 25-27 – November 24, 2010
SOCIETAL IMPACTS DURING 2010
• The volcanic ash cloud over Europe from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano paralyzed air travel in Europe for weeks and cost the industry over $2 B.
• The eruption of Mount Merapi immediately after a M7.7 earthquake and a tsunami caused loss of life and a triple disaster in Indonesia.
TECTONICS OF INDONESIA REGION
• The Australian and Eurasian plates meet in Indonesia, creating a tectonic setting favorable for generating earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions.
Indonesia is home to 129 active volcanoes, with the two most active
ones — Mount Kelut and Mount Merapi — located on the island of
Java, which also contains the Indonesian capital of Jakarta,
roughly 500 km (300 mi) northwest of them.
MOUNT MERAPI, INDONESIA, IS A SUBDUCTION ZONE VOLCANO
• Mount Merapi has a history of starting full scale erupt-ions with a pyroclastic cloud and flow.
VOLCANO HAZARDS (AKA POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS)
• LAVA FLOWS
• LAHARS
• EARTHQUAKES (related to movement of lava)
• “VOLCANIC WINTER”
VOLCANO HAZARDS (AKA POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS)
• VERTICAL PLUME
• ASH AND TEPHRA
• LATERAL BLAST
• PYROCLASTIC FLOWS
Unlike the subduction zone volcanoes along the Pacific Rim where the slow rise of magma gives early seismic warnings that an eruption is imminent, Iceland's hot spot
volcanoes tend to erupt under ice sheets with little warning.
Iceland lies on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the highly volatile divergent
boundary between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates that
is marked by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
LATERAL BLAST
VOLCANIC
ERUPTIONS
VOLCANIC
ERUPTIONS
PYROCLASTIC FLOWS
FLYING DEBRIS
VOLCANIC ASH
LAVA FLOWS
LAHARS
TOXIC GASES
CAUSES OF RISK
CAUSES OF RISK
CASE HISTORIESCASE HISTORIES
COMMUNITYCOMMUNITYCOMMUNITYCOMMUNITYDATA BASES DATA BASES AND INFORMATIONAND INFORMATIONDATA BASES DATA BASES AND INFORMATIONAND INFORMATION
HAZARDS: GROUND SHAKING GROUND FAILURE SURFACE FAULTING TECTONIC DEFORMATION TSUNAMI RUN UP AFTERSHOCKS
•HAZARD MAPS•INVENTORY•VULNERABILITY•LOCATION
RISK ASSESSMENTRISK ASSESSMENT
RISK
ACCEPTABLE RISK
UNACCEPTABLE RISK
VOLCANO DISASTER RISK VOLCANO DISASTER RISK REDUCTIONREDUCTION
•PREVENTION/MITIGATION•PREPAREDNESS•EMERGENCY RESPONSE•RECOVERY and RECONSTRUCTION
POLICY OPTIONSPOLICY OPTIONS
DISASTER RISK REDUCTION STRATEGIES FOR VOLCANOES
DISASTER RISK REDUCTION STRATEGIES FOR VOLCANOES
• PURPOSE
• LAND-USE CONTROL
• EVACUATION
• PURPOSE
• LAND-USE CONTROL
• EVACUATION
• TECHNIQUE
• MAPS: LAVA AND/OR LAHAR FLOW PATHS
• COMMUNITY EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN
• TECHNIQUE
• MAPS: LAVA AND/OR LAHAR FLOW PATHS
• COMMUNITY EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN
The Eyjafjallajökull (AYA-feeyapla-yurkul) volcano in Southern Iceland,
part of the volcanic process that originally formed Iceland, erupted a
few minutes before midnight on Saturday, March 20th
ERUPTION HISTORY
Eyjafjallajökull last erupted in 1821 in what was called a "lazy"
eruption, which lasted almost two years.
A dark and spectacular volcanic cloud spread over Britain and toward continental Europe on
Thursday, April 15, forcing airlines to cancel thousands of flights as it drifted at high altitude south and
east from the continuing eruption in Iceland.
The ash cloud, made up of minute particles of silicate that can
severely damage jet engines, left airplanes stranded on the tarmac at
some of the world’s busiest airports.
A week of airspace closures caused by the ash threat to planes created
the worst breakdown in civil aviation in Europe since World War II, which caused more than 100,000
flights to be canceled and airlines to lose over $2 billion.
A NEW THREAT: Scientists said the 800-meter fissure caused by the
eruption was growing and heading towards the Myrdalsjokall glacier, which sits atop Iceland’s powerful
Katla volcano
An eruption at the Katla volcano would likely be
very disastrous for Iceland as well as for other nations.
ERUPTION OF MOUNT MERAPI
EXACERBATED THE EARTHQUAKE-TSUNAMI
DISASTER THAT OCCURRED ON OCTOER 25, 2010
October 25-27 – November 24, 2010
A M7.7 EARTHQUAKE, A 3 M-TSUNAMI-WAVE RUN UP, AND A LONG
ERUPTION OF MOUNT MERAPI CAUSED LOSSES IN THE TENS OF
MILLIONS, DISPLACED OVER 340,000, KILLING NEARLY 1,000 , AND
POTENTIALLY AFFECTING THE HEALTH AND QUALITY OF LIFE FOR
THOUSANDS,
Sandwiched between two active earthquake belts, the Pacific “Ring of fire,” and the Alpide Belt, Indonesia experiences some of the most powerful earthquakes and volcanic
eruptions on Earth.
KNOWING THE ERUPTION HISTORY OF A VOLCANO IS A VITAL PART OF THE ART
AND SCIENCE OF INTELLIGENT EVACUATION.
Monday and Tuesday: Oct 25-26
Indonesia endured two days of environmental extremes after a powerful earthquake, a tsunami,
and a volcanic eruption struck the Java region of the Indonesian
archipelago.
CASUALTIES: 538 ON OCT 26, BUT TOLL CONTINUED TO RISE
The earthquake and tsunami run up left at least 500 dead, and the initial volcanic eruption left 38 dead, BUT,
health impacts associated with Mount Merapi’s continuing eruption
may have long-term impacts.
THE RESPONSE TO A HUGE HUMANITARIAN
NEED BEGINSThe Indonesian government started by constructing 4000 shelter homes, while Aid workers were scrambling to provide
tents, food, clothing, and medicine to evacuees while awaiting international
assistance.
FLAWS IN EVACUATION FACILITIES EXPOSED : NOV 2
• Tens of thousands of evacuees, who were anxious to go home to check on livestock and homes, found the camps cramped and unsanitary, but they were unable to go because there was no lull or clear end in Merapi’s eruption cycle.
In consideration of the violence of the eruption on November 3rd,
the government widened the radius of the evacuation zone
around Merapi from 5 to 10 km, and eventually to 12 km.
Aid workers say the conditions in the evacuee camps are very
poor, with some shelters having as few as five lavatories for every thousand residents.
VERY VIOLENT ERUPTION ON NOV 5
• Just before midnight, Merapi erupted with a 10 km ash plume that affected locations 250 km away and a pyroclastic cloud of ash and rock fragments that raced down the slopes at speeds of up to 100 km per hour.
•
Deaths continued to climb daily from the continuing eruption of
Mount Merapi: 38 (Oct 26) to 56 to 118 to 138 to 156 (Nov 8) to 191(Nov 10).
NOV. 6TH : A massive aid operation is underway to provide humanitarian assistance to some 200,000 people who fled the most violent eruptions in 100 years, especially on Thursday night (Nov 4th), which killed over 70 people.
Local government, the security forces, the Indonesian Red
Cross, NGOs and hundreds of volunteers are distributing food,
water and organizing basic medical care.
USA SENDS THREE VOLCANO EXPERTS WITH EXPERIENCE IN
THE MAY 1980 ERUPTION OF MOUNT ST HELENS TO ASSIST
INDONESIAN EXPERTS IN THEIR ASSESSMENTS OF MERAPI.
Merapi’s eruptions, which began on Oct. 26, passed the 120-hour mark on Nov. 11, eclipsing its
old record set in 1872.
NOV 11: According to the National Disaster Management Agency, 194 deaths, 598 people are hospitalized, and 343,909
people have been evacuated to the safety zone, 12.4 miles (20
km) away from Merapi.
NEW THREAT-FLASH FLOODS:Volcanic debris has clogged many of the rivers (e.g., Code River) that begin on Merapi's slopes, and officials are now worried that cold lava could overwhelm these rivers and
create conditions for flash floods.
NOV 15th Evacuees begin returning home to take care of livestock and to
assess vitality of resuming their former livelihoods
AS OF NOV 16th Merapi had emitted more than
140 million cubic meters of materials, higher than the 100
million cubic meters emitted in 1872 and the 14 million cubic
meters emitted in 2006.
The month-long eruptions of Mount Merapi also damaged 867 hectares of forested land
on the volcano`s slopes in Sleman District, Yogyakarta,
with material losses estimated at Rp33 billion.
Deaths from the ongoing eruption of Mount Merapi
continued to climb daily, going from:
38 (Oct 26) to 56 to 118 to 138 to 156 (Nov 8) to 190 (Nov 10) to 250 (Nov 14) to 275 (Nov 18) to
324 (Nov 25)
NOV 18th The Government spent an
estimated $10 million to buy cattle as a means of keeping
the farmers from returning home too soon to face almost certain health-care problems
and death.
NOV 19th The Government declared that it
will end the emergency response period for the Mount
Merapi volcanic eruption disaster on November 24th
NOV 20th Indonesia's Yogyakarta airport,
which had been closed for about two weeks by the eruption of the
Mount Merapi volcano, reopened for operations on Saturday, November 20.
After the end of the emergency response period, the National Disaster Management Agency
(BNPB) will begin implementing the reconstruction and
rehabilitation programs for Mount Merapi victims
The BNPB has at its disposal Rp397 billion to help disaster
victims, with 80 percent allocated to meet the victims` physical
needs and 20 percent allocated for operational expenses..
"Houses that have been damaged or destroyed will be rebuilt; people who have lost
cattle will be financially compensated, and food will be
provided for those who lost crops.
But there also was more than Rp3 trillion in stand-by funds to
respond to the needs of reconstruction and rehabilitation
NOVEMBER 26-28: Indonesia’s Mount Bromo, also located on Java, began to erupt on Friday, eventually emitting ash clouds
on Sunday that reached a height of up to 700 meters (2,300 feet).
on Sunday.
Those living in the vicinity of Mount Bromo remained on high
alert as the East Java administration closed the airport
and began to prepare nearby residents for the possibility of an
urgent evacuation.