The Dangers of Active Volcanoes

The Mayon Volcano is located in Legazpi City, Philippines and has erupted about 50 times in the last 500 years. This volcano has killed many civilians especially in 1814, killing about 1,200.

  On May 7, 2013, 5 mountain climbers were killed and 7 were injured from spewing ash that reached about 500 meters; however, the alert level was a 0 which states that’s it’s not extremely dangerous. There will just be random ash and steam explosions.

  Mount Mayon is the most active volcano in the Philippines and the world. There are 22 active volcanoes that lie in the Ring of Fire which is a line of seismic faults surrounding the Pacific Ocean where earthquakes and volcanic activity are common.

  Many citizens are saying that the lunar eclipse on January 31 is the cause for the explosion of the recent eruption that occurred. This could be a possibility because the moon creates the tides in oceans, but doubtful at the same time.

  This volcano in 2018 erupted a total of five times since January 24 causing massive evacuations of about 50,000 people among the villages around this volcano.

     Legazpi City is one of the biggest business-friendly places to visit in the world. However, the cost of living there is very expensive. This city is the center of tourism, health services, education, transportation, and commence.

   Around the outskirts of the volcano, it is one of the best places to grow and herd animals because the ground is well fertilized and full of grass, but because of this eruption, it has caused many civilians to leave their animals behind.  

  Fountains of lava gushed to about 700m above Mount Mayon’s crater and ash plumes rose up to about 3 km causing the evacuation of 50,000 people, and because of that amount of level, scientist casted a warning level of 4 which is the highest it can go meaning that it is dangerous and can erupted massively at any time.

  Former veteran Richard Buck was in Washington when Mount Saint Helen’s erupted in 1979 and he described his experience by stating, “ I remember riding my bike home from my moms and all of a sudden ash had come over the mountains, and pieces of rocks where flying. I was scared when this was going on because I had no idea what happened, but I do know a rock broke my windshield.”

  There are many volcanoes that are highly active that should be watched. The first one is Mount Etna which is located in Sicily, Italy the number one most dangerous.

   Mount Stromboli is the second which is located in Aeolian Islands, Italy. Mount Yasur which is in the Republic of Vanuatu. The Republic of Vanuatu is a small island in the Pacific Ocean. The fourth most dangerous is mount Ambrym, also in the Republic of Vanuatu.

  Mount Yasur is typically most active during the wetter seasons like February-April. Mount Stromboli is always active with small eruptions throughout the year but expected to massively erupt anytime.  Mount Ambrym is one of the most active volcanoes and is considered ballistic. Mount Etna is the largest volcano in Europe and erupts many times throughout the year.  

  Any volcano is dangerous and people should be cautious around, but these few volcanoes are ones are the ones people should be scared about.

  As much as real news scares people, it’s good to be aware of one’s surroundings and keep up with what’s going on. Let’s hope that all of the citizens around these active volcanoes are given a warning before this happens so they can save themselves and their families.