Volcano Live

Volcanic eruptions are not the most dangerous of natural disasters. Eruptions cause less fatalities than earthquakes, hurricanes and famines.

In the past 200 years, there have been over 200,000 deaths from volcanic eruptions. Four causes resulted in 91% of the fatalities - famine and epidemic disease (30%), pyroclastic flows (27%), lahars (17%), and tsunamis (17%).

The most important role for volcanologists is not to predict eruptions but to foresee catastrophic events.

The list below is not comprehensive, but gives an indication of some events.

The number of fatalities on a volcano does not only depend upon the size of the eruption. The great eruption of Mt Etna in 1669 destroyed the city of Catania but no one was killed. In contrast a single lahar from melting snow killed 28 000 at Nevado del Ruiz even when the event was correctly forecast. Timely and credible information to the public helps save lives.

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