notable events and disasters of 2014 highlights of volcanic eruptions walter hays, global alliance...

NOTABLE EVENTS AND DISASTERS OF 2014

HIGHLIGHTS OF VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS

Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, Vienna, Disaster Reduction, Vienna,

Virginia, USA 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).

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).

ELEMENTS OF VOLCANIC HAZARDS AND RISK

HAZARDSHAZARDSHAZARDSHAZARDS

ELEMENTS OF RISK ELEMENTS OF RISK ELEMENTS OF RISK ELEMENTS OF RISK

EXPOSUREEXPOSUREEXPOSUREEXPOSURE

VULNERABILITYVULNERABILITYVULNERABILITYVULNERABILITY LOCATIONLOCATIONLOCATIONLOCATION

RISKRISKRISKRISK

LOCATIONS OF ACTIVE VOLCANOES

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)

LATERAL BLAST

VOLCANIC

ERUPTIONS

VOLCANIC

ERUPTIONS

PYROCLASTIC FLOWS

FLYING DEBRIS

ASH PLUME AND GASES

LAVA FLOWS

LAHARS

TOXIC GASES

CAUSES OF RISK

CAUSES OF RISK

CASE HISTORIESCASE HISTORIES

AIRLINES ON RED ALERT AFTER VOLCANIC ERUPTION

IN ICELANDAugust 23, 2014

BARDARBUNGA ERUPTS

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.

VOLCANIC ERUPTION IN JAPAN

Saturday, September 27, 2014

MOUNT ONTAKEERUPTS AFTER 35 YEARS

OF DORMANCY

ONTAKE, ONE OF 100 ACTIVE VOLCANOES IN JAPAN, ERUPTED A

LITTLE BEFORE NOON ON

SEPTEMBER 27, 2014

MOUNT ONTAKE: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2014

MOUNT ONTAKE: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2014

MOUNT ONTAKE: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2014

MOUNT ONTAKE: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2014

MOUNT ONTAKE: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2014

MOUNT ONTAKE: SATURDAY, 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.

MOUNT ONTAKE COVERED WITH ASHMOUNT ONTAKE COVERED WITH ASH

MOUNT ONTAKE COVERED WITH ASHMOUNT ONTAKE COVERED WITH ASH

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.

HIKERS RETURNING: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2014

HIKERS RETURNING: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2014

HIKERS RETURNING: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2014

HIKERS RETURNING: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2014

INJURED HIKERS HAD TO TAKE REFUGE IN ASH-COVERED LODGES

SATURDAY: INITIAL S AND R WITH HELOCOPTERS

SATURDAY: INITIAL S AND R WITH HELOCOPTERS

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: BEGINNING OF S AND R OPRATIONS

SUNDAY: BEGINNING OF S AND R OPRATIONS

MOUNT ONTAKE: SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

MOUNT ONTAKE: SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

SUNDAY: S AND R WORKERS GOING THE WRONG WAY

Sunday: Rescue workers had to suspend S and R operations due to toxic

gases and volcano-induced seismic activity

MONDAY: RESCUE WORKERS ABLE TO REACH ASH-COVERED TOP

MONDAY: RESCUE WORKERS ABLE TO REACH ASH-COVERED TOP

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.

DEATH TOLL REACHED 36AT LEAST 69 INJURED

LAVA FLOW—A SILENT VOLCANIC HAZARD IN HAWAII

Thursday, October 30, 2014Monday, November 10, 2014

LAVA FLOW MOVING AT 5 M PER HOUR TOWARDS PAHOA

LAVA FLOW MOVING AT 5 M PER HOUR TOWARDS PAHOA

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.

LAVA FLOW FROM KILAUEA CONTINUES ITS ADVANCE TOWARD PAHOA

LAVA FLOW FROM KILAUEA CONTINUES ITS ADVANCE TOWARD PAHOA

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.

Monday, November 10, 2014

LAVA FLOW ARRIVES AND SETS FIRE TO FIRST HOUSE

LAVA FLOW ARRIVES AND SETS FIRE TO FIRST HOUSE

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.

THE REASONS ARE . . .

• The community has NO DISASTER PLANNING SCENARIO or WARNING SYSTEM in place as a strategic framework for early threat identification and coordinated local, national, regional, and international countermeasures.

THE REASONS ARE . . .

• The community LACKS THE CAPACITY TO RESPOND in a timely and effective manner to the full spectrum of expected and unexpected emergency situations.

THE REASONS ARE . . .

• The community is INEFFICIENT during recovery and reconstruction because it HAS NOT LEARNED from either the current experience or the cumulative prior experiences.

LEARNING FROM GLOBAL VOLCANIC-- ERUPTION

DISASTER LABORATORIES

WHAT MAKES THESE 11 VOLCANOES DANGEROUS

• Eyjafjallajökull and Katla (ICELAND)

• Chaiten

• Krakatau

• Merapi

• Vesuvius

• Pinatubo

• Mount Rainier

• Nevada del Ruiz

• Popocatepl

• Nyirangongo (CONGO)

ELEVEN OF THE WORLD’S NOST DANGEROUS

VOLCANOES

THE NEXT ERUPTION OF THESE 11 ACTIVE VOLCANOES IS LIKELY TO BE

DEVASTATING LOCALLY, REGIONALLY, AND GLOBALLY

LOCATED NEAR CITIES AND INTERNATIONAL AIRLINE ROUTES

An eruption of any one of these eleven volcanoes is certain to be devastating to people, their property, their health, the economy, and, sometimes, the regional air space.

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 VOLCANO DISASTER RESILIENCE RESILIENCE

•PREPAREDNESS•PROTECTION •EMERGENCY RESPONSE•RECOVERY and RECONSTRUCTION

POLICY OPTIONSPOLICY OPTIONS

THE KEYS TO RESILIENCE: 1) KNOW THE ERUPTIVE HISTORY OF

YOUR REGION’S VOLCANOES,2) BE PREPARED

3) HAVE A WARNING SYSTEM 4) EVACUATE

5) LEARN FROM THE EXPERIENCE AND START OVER