“the Hazards Presented by Volcanic Events Have the Greatest Impact on the World’s Poorest People. “ to What Extent Do You Agree with This View? (40 Marks)

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Volcanic events occur due to the movement of plate tectonics- this can be at destructive, constructive or conservative boundaries. Hazards are created when these events have an impact on human life/ activity and come in the form of primary and secondary effects. Primary effects include pyroclastic flow, lava flow and volcanic gases. Volcanic gases are emitted from volcanoes almost constantly and include carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulphide. These gases increase around the time of an eruption. This is a feature of volcanic events but becomes a hazard when this affects the people around the area- for example the events of Lake Nyos. In 1985, Lake Nyos in Cameroon emitted large amounts of carbon dioxide in a short amount of time and suffocated around 1,700 people and 3,500 livestock overnight. This is an LEDC and it could be argued that if the area was wealthier, warnings could have been given to the local area and allow people enough time to evacuate; Therefore having a greater negative impact on the poorer people of Cameroon than an MEDC may suffer. Secondary effects include flooding, lahars and in severe cases- climate change. A secondary effect happens as a consequence of the primary effects and an example is the 1996 flooding of Grimsvotn, Iceland. This occurred due to the melting of glacial ice caps which caused a glacial burst- this happened several weeks after the eruption and caused a main section of road to be washed away by the flood. Monitoring however ensured the necessary preparations were put in place- e.g. closing the Icelandic ring road to avoid injuries. Geological monitoring was possible as the area had invested in equipment and geologists were on location waiting for any activity- this is likely not available in an LEDC as the sufficient education is not provided about the volcanic hazards. The two countries I am focusing on are
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