PLOSKY TOLBACHIK VOLCANOPLOSKY TOLBACHIK VOLCANO IN KAMCHATKA IN KAMCHATKA

ERUPTS AFTER 40 YEARS ERUPTS AFTER 40 YEARSJanuary 6, 2013January 6, 2013

Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, Vienna,

Virginia, USA 

PLOSKY TOLBACHIK SPEWS ASH 4 KM: JAN. 6, 2013

The Plosky Tolbachik volcano, which emitted lava, poisonous gases, and ash, is located in

Kamchatka peninsula, hundreds of miles (km) from the nearest residential areas.

Tourists rushing to the area to view the once-in-40 years spectacle have been warned

about the toxic gases.

Until the lava-spewing fissure that occurred on November 27, 2012, and the current eruption phase, Plosky Tolbachik had

been dormant since 1976.

The current eruption, which is expected to continue for some

time, has not yet forced any changes in the airline flight

patterns over this part of Russia.

This type of eruption, known as a strombolian eruption, is

usually moderate.

BACKGROUND

VOLCANOES are awesome manifestations of heat flowing at hot spots (e.g.,

Hawaii and Iceland) and in subduction zones (e.g., along almost the entire Pacific Rim).

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION OF 1,500 ACTIVE VOLCANOES

ACTIVE VOLCANOES

COMMUNITYCOMMUNITYDATA BASES DATA BASES AND INFORMATIONAND INFORMATION

HAZARDS: GROUND SHAKING GROUND FAILURE SURFACE FAULTING TECTONIC DEFORMATION TSUNAMI RUN UP AFTERSHOCKS

•HAZARD MAPS•INVENTORY•VULNERABILITY•LOCATION

VOLCANOESVOLCANOES

RISK

ACCEPTABLE RISK

UNACCEPTABLE RISK

VOLCANO DISASTER RISK VOLCANO DISASTER RISK REDUCTIONREDUCTION

•PREVENTION/MITIGATION•PREPAREDNESS•EMERGENCY RESPONSE•RECOVERY and RECONSTRUCTION

POLICY OPTIONSPOLICY OPTIONS

VOLCANO HAZARDS (AKA POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS)

• VERTICAL PLUME • ASH AND TEPHRA• LATERAL BLAST• PYROCLASTIC FLOWS

VOLCANO HAZARDS (AKA POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS)

• LAVA FLOWS AND TOXIC GASES

• LAHARS• EARTHQUAKES (related to the

movement of lava)• “VOLCANIC WINTER”

LATERAL BLAST

VOLCANICERUPTIONS

PYROCLASTIC FLOWS

FLYING DEBRIS

VOLCANIC ASH

LAVA FLOWS

LAHARS

TOXIC GASES

CAUSES OF RISK

CASE HISTORIES

HAZARDSHAZARDS

ELEMENTS OF VOLCANO ELEMENTS OF VOLCANO RISKRISK

EXPOSUREEXPOSURE

VULNERABILITYVULNERABILITY LOCATIONLOCATION

RISKRISK

VOLCANOES CAUSING MAJOR LOSS OF LIFE

Three past volcanic eruptions caused major loss of life: 1) Krakatoa, Indonesia, where 32,000 were killed in 1883; 2) Mt. Pelee, Martinique, where 29,000 were killed in 1902; and 3) Nevada del Ruiz, Colombia, where 23,000 were killed in 1985.

EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES FOR VOLCANOES

• FORECASTS OF ERUPTIONS

• MONITORING TECHNOLOGIES (E.G., DEFORMATION, SEISMICITY, GAS EMISSIONS, REMOTE SENSING, WINDS)

• WARNING SYSTEMS

• DATABASES FOR EACH VOLCANO

• COMPUTER MODELS OF VOLCANOES

• MAPS • DISASTER

SCENARIOS• HAZARD

ASSESSMENT • RISK ASSESSMENT

MONITORING TECHNOLOGIES

.