Teacher Resource 12

Why do people continue to live in the shadow of an active volcano?A natural event in an uninhabited place becomes a hazard in a populated one.

What exactly is a hazard?

A hazard is natural or human-made event that adversely affects human life, property or activity. A hazard involves people.

When does a hazard become a disaster?

“A disaster is an occurrence disrupting the normal conditions of existence and causing a level of suffering that exceeds the capacity of adjustment of the affected community.”(WHO/EHA 2002).

There is no universally agreed numerical threshold for designating a hazard as a disaster. A matter of scale, a disaster is a lot bigger than a natural hazard.

A large range of hazard events are associated with volcanism, and they are classified into primary and secondary hazards.

Primary tectonic hazards include earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, pyroclastic flow, ash fall and volcanic gases.

Secondary tectonic hazards include tsunamis, landslides and lahars. A tsunami is a secondary hazard, because the flooding is caused by the earthquake at sea.

Questions, questions?

The questions we might want to ask include; why do people choose to live near volcanoes? Why tempt fate? Why set up the conditions for a hazard or worse, a catastrophe? What are the implications of living in tectonically active locations? What is the range of impacts people experience as a result of volcanic eruptions?

Ask your learners in pairs to draw a mind map of reasons why people choose to live near volcanoes. Ask them to compare their mind map with a second group Do they need to make amendments and/or share ideas across the group?

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Case study – La Soufrière Volcano St Vincent

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiS3_A16hqqFYpmagNAHcR3guKoO_qO4K

Photo by Paul Cole, University of Plymouth, January 2014. Creative commons http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Further information at the following website: http://blogs.egu.eu/network/volcanicdegassing/2014/01/20/a-volcanic-retrospective-eruptions-of-the-soufriere-st-vincent/

This video case study and the article from the Fellowship magazine of The Geological Society of London explores a range of reasons why people choose to live near volcanoes and the implications for their lives.

In April 1979, La Soufriere, St. Vincent started to erupt. It was a large explosive eruption. In these recent videos Vincentians describe their thoughts, feelings and actions as this happened. They also describe what they have been told about the larger fatal eruptions in 1902.

Three films about why people continue to live in the shadow of an active volcano

These films have been produced by STREVA (Strengthening Resilience in Volcanic Areas). Led by the University of East Anglia (UK), the STREVA project brings together researchers from universities and research institutes from within the UK and from those areas affected directly by volcanic activity.

Living with the Volcano

What is it like to live on a beautiful island, with an active volcano? Why do residents stay and what do they think might happen if it erupts again?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDd2m_NuSIg&list=PLiS3_A16hqqFYpmagNAHcR3guKoO_qO4K&index=3

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Eruption – La Soufrière Volcano St Vincent

In April 1979, La Soufriere, St. Vincent started to erupt: In this film Vincentians describe their thoughts, feelings and how they responded.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJ_lLwiB_h8&list=PLiS3_A16hqqFYpmagNAHcR3guKoO_qO4K&index=1

Response and Recovery – La Soufrière Volcano St Vincent

During the volcanic activity of La Soufriere in 1979 many people were evacuated from their own homes. Here they talk about life in the evacuation shelters, and how it felt to pick up the pieces when they returned - and one or two of the upsides of all that activity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmqjY0Qf-Xc&list=PLiS3_A16hqqFYpmagNAHcR3guKoO_qO4K&index=2

Ask your learners to make notes from the videos under the following three headings;

Reasons why people choose to live in tectonically active locations

The impacts people experience as a result of volcanic eruptions

Economic, environmental and political impacts on the country.

Further research

Why do people still live next to an active volcano?

(i) This website explores the attitudes of people living near Sinabung, Indonesia. This volcano has erupted several times since 2010 and is now Indonesia’s most active volcano

http://theconversation.com/why-do-people-still-live-next-to-an-active-volcano-59947

(ii) The Creatures Will Protect Us by Kate Donovan and Aris Suharyanto from The Fellowship magazine of The Geological Society of London, www.geolsoc.org.uk Volume 21 No 1 February 2011

Kate Donovan and Aris Suharyanto have been living on Mt Merapi, Indonesia, attempting to understand the people who live, farm – and die there. The article shares their findings.

Ask your learners to research both sources and add any new findings to the previous notes under the same three headings;

Reasons why people choose to live in tectonically active locations

The impacts people experience as a result of volcanic eruptions

Economic, environmental and political impacts on the country.

Version 1 3 © OCR 2017Hazardous Earth

More about STREVA

http://www.nerc.ac.uk/research/funded/programmes/resilience/streva-synopsis/

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OCR acknowledges the use of the following content: Photo by Paul Cole, University of Plymouth, January 2014. Creative commons http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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