Transcript volcanic eruptions

LESSONS LEARNED FROM PAST
NOTABLE DISASTERS
THE CARIBBEAN
PART 4: VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS
Walter Hays, Global Alliance for
Disaster Reduction, Vienna,
Virginia, USA
Natural Phenomena that Cause
Disasters
Planet Earth’s
heat flow and
lithosphericmantle collisionzone interactions cause
VOLCANIC
ERUPTIONS
NATURAL HAZARDS THAT HAVE CAUSED
DISASTERS IN THE CARIBBEAN BASIN
FLOODS
GOAL: PROTECT PEOPLE
AND COMMUNITIES
HIGH BENEFIT/COST
PROGRAMS FOR
BECOMING DISASTER
RESILIENT
WINDSTORMS
EARTHQUAKES
VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION
GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE
GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION OF 1,500
ACTIVE VOLCANOES
ACTIVE VOLCANOES
THE CARIBBEAN BASIN
The Caribbean: long
referred to as the West
Indies, includes more than
7,000 islands; of these, 13
are independent island
countries
ISLANDS POSSESSING MINOR
VOLCANIC FEATURES
• Aruuba, Barbados, Bahamas,
Bonaire, Cayman Islands, Saint
Croix, and Antigua
ISLANDS POSSESSING RUGGED
MOUNTAIN RANGES
• Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico,
Jamaica, ,Dominica, Montserrat,
Saba, Saint Kitts, Saint Lucia, Saint
Thomas, Saint John, Tortola,
Grenada, Saint Vincent,
Guadeloupe, Martinique, and
Trinidad and Tobago
ELEMENTS OF RISK AND
DISASTER
THE CARIBBEAN’S VOLCANOES
• The present dozen active
volcanoes on or near the
Caribbean are restricted to the
Lesser Antilles
THE BEST KNOWN HISTORIC
ERUPTIONS
• The best known are:oufriere on
Guadeloupe, Mount Pelee on
Martinique (well-known for its
disastrous 1902 eruption and nuee
ardente destroying St. Pierre and killing
some 28,000 people), Kick'Em Jenny, a
submarine volcano north of Grenada,
and a series of eruptions beginning in
1995 on Montserrat.
ELEMENTS OF VOLCANO
RISK
HAZARDS
EXPOSURE
RISK
VULNERABILITY
LOCATION
THE VOLCANO HAZARDS
ARE POTENTIAL DISASTER
AGENTS
VOLCANO HAZARDS
(AKA POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS)
•
•
•
•
VERTICAL PLUME
ASH AND TEPHRA
LATERAL BLAST
PYROCLASTIC FLOWS
VOLCANO HAZARDS
(AKA POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS)
• LAVA FLOWS
• LAHARS
• EARTHQUAKES (related to
movement of lava)
• “VOLCANIC WINTER”
A DISASTER CAN HAPPEN
WHEN THE
POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS
OF A VOLCANIC ERUPTION
INTERACT WITH A CARIBBEAN
NATION’S COMMUNITIES
A DISASTER is ----- the set of failures that overwhelm the
capability of a community to respond
without external help when three
continuums: 1) people, 2) community
(i.e., a set of habitats, livelihoods, and
social constructs), and 3) complex
events (e.g., a volcanic eruption,...)
intersect at a point in space and time.
Disasters are caused by
single- or multiple-event
natural hazards that, (for
various reasons), cause
extreme levels of mortality,
morbidity, homelessness,
joblessness, economic losses,
or environmental impacts.
THE REASONS ARE . . .
• When it does happen, the
functions of the community’s
buildings and infrastructure will be
LOST because they are
UNPROTECTED with the
appropriate codes and standards.
THE REASONS ARE . . .
• The community is UNPREPARED 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.
EXAMPLES OF PAST
VOLCANO DISASTERS
MONTSERAT
SOUFRIERE HILLS: 1995 and
following
SOUFRIERE HILLS
ERUPTION
SOUFRIERE HILLS
ERUPTION
SOUFRIERE HILLS VOLCANO,
MONTSERAT: 1995 TO PRESENT
• The capital,
Plymouth, was
buried by ash
and eventually
evacuated.
• 2,000-3,000 still
remain on the
island.
IMPACTS
• Numerous evacuations followed by
temporary resumptions made
normal life impossible.
• Plymouth, which was eventually
destroyed, was unable to function
effectively as the capital.
THE ALTERNATIVE TO A
VOLCANO DISASTER IS
VOLCANO DISASTER
RESILIENCE
VOLCANO RISK
• VOLCANO HAZARDS
•INVENTORY
•VULNERABILITY
•LOCATION
DATA BASES
AND INFORMATION
ACCEPTABLE RISK
RISK
UNACCEPTABLE RISK
CARIBBEAN
NATION’S
COMMUNITIES
VOLCANO DISASTER
RESILIENCE
POLICY OPTIONS
HAZARDS:
GROUND SHAKING
GROUND FAILURE
SURFACE FAULTING
TECTONIC DEFORMATION
TSUNAMI RUN UP
AFTERSHOCKS
•PREPAREDNESS
•PROTECTION
•FORECASTS/SCENARIOS
•EMERGENCY RESPONSE
•RECOVERY and
RECONSTRUCTION
LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT
DISASTER RESILIENCE
ALL VOLCANOES
PREPAREDNESS
FOR THE LIKELY
HAZARDS (PDA’s)
IS ESSENTIAL
FOR DISASTER
RESILIENCE
LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT
DISASTER RESILIENCE
ALL VOLCANOES
TECHNOLOGIES
(E.G., GEOEYE) THAT
FACILITATE THREAT
IDENTIFICATION FOR
EARLY WARNING
AND EVACUATION
ARE ESSENTIAL FOR
DISASTER
RESILIENCE
LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT
DISASTER RESILIENCE
ALL VOLCANOES
EARLY WARNING
IS ESSENTIAL
FOR EVACUATION AND
DISASTER
RESILIENCE
LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT
DISASTER RESILIENCE
ALL VOLCANOES
TIMELY
EMERGENCY
RESPONSE IS
ESSENTIAL FOR
DISASTER
RESILIENCE
STRATEGIC COLLABORATION
FOR BECOMING VOLCANO
DISASTER RESILIENT
DISASTER RESILIENCE
STRATEGIES FOR VOLCANOES
• PURPOSE
• PROTECTION
• CONTROL
• AVIATION SAFETY
• TECHNIQUE
• DESIGN ROOFS
FOR WET ASH
• LAVA AND/OR
LAHAR DIVERSION
CHANNELS
• MODELS OF ASH
DISTRIBUTION
DISASTER RESILIENCE
STRATEGIES FOR VOLCANOES
• PURPOSE
• URBAN PLANNING
• EVACUATION
• TECHNIQUE
• MAPS: LAVA
AND/OR LAHAR
FLOW PATHS; ASH
DISTRIBUTION
• COMMUNITY
EVACUATION
PLAN
DISASTER RESILIENCE
STRATEGIES FOR VOLCANOES
• PURPOSE
• COMPUTER
MODELS OF A
SPECIFIC VOLCANO, OR OF A
SPECIFIC HAZARD
• TECHNIQUE
• MONITORING TO
CONSTRUCT AN
ERUPTION
HISTORY OF A
VOLCANO;
HAZARD ZONES
DISASTER RESILIENCE STRATEGIES
FOR VOLCANOES
• PURPOSE
• TEMPORARY
SHELTERS
• TECHNIQUE
• SAFE HAVENS FOR
EVACUEES
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES FOR
VOLCANO DISASTER RESILIENCE
• FORECASTS OF
ERUPTIONS
• MONITORING
TECHNOLOGIES (E.G.,
DEFORMATION,
SEISMICITY, GAS
EMISSIONS, REMOTE
SENSING, WIND
DIRECTION)
• WARNING SYSTEMS
• DATABASES FOR
EACH VOLCANO
• COMPUTER MODELS
OF EACH VOLCANO
• HAZARD MAPS
• DISASTER
SCENARIOS
• HAZARD
ASSESSMENT
• RISK ASSESSMENT
INSITU AND SATELLITE
MONITORING TECHNOLOGIES
.
ALTHOUGH INFREQUENT, A VOLCANIC ERUPTION
IN THE CARIBBEAN BASIN IS INEVITABLE
• ---SO, DON’T WAIT
FOR ANOTHER
REMINDER OF THE
IMPORTANCE OF
BECOMING
VOLCANO
DISASTER
RESILIENT.