To What Extent Can Preparedness and Planning Mitigate the Effects of Volcanic Hazards?

1440 Words6 Pages
There are numerous locations around the world where populations live and work in the proximity of hazardous volcanoes, and where problems of decreasing volcanic risk caused by future eruptions are becoming increasingly difficult to solve as worldwide population growth continues to increase rapidly. This is particularly true of low income countries (LICs); and in addition are the regions whereby hazard mitigation is most difficult due to the lack of resources and funding available to invest in hazard mitigation methods. A volcanic hazard is measured in terms of the probability of an eruption occurring at a given place and time which in these situations may be effusive, when a volcano produces slow moving lava flows; and explosive when a volcano produces volcanic tephra consisting of clouds of gas, ash and pyroclastic flows travelling at speeds typically in excess of 80km per hour with average temperatures between 200-700c. The success of hazard mitigation methods may be assessed through the analysis of historical events and furthermore potential recent technological advances which may be more successful; however, it is clear that methods of hazard mitigation may only be effective to a certain extent depending significantly on the context in which they are applied. The level of development experienced by a given region plays a significant role in the degree of success which may be achieved by hazard mitigation methods. Moreover, the severity of an eruptive event impacts the extent to which hazard mitigation can be effective. A volcanic risk thus constantly changes due to the potential hazards present and the socio-economic conditions of the people exposed to the hazard. Mitigation of hazards may be achieved through planning. This ideally comprises of an integrated, ‘three pronged’ approach involving prevention, preparedness and emergency response measures. A method
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