Other Volcano Disasters

There have been many other volcanic disasters (click the chart at left). Some are famous. Others are more obscure, but no less devastating.

Akrotiri in the Santorini Islands, Greece - date uncertain (approx. 17th century BC). The Geology of Santorini is still under study.

Atlantis - a legend about a city during the time of Plato (9400 BC). Little is known if the city actually existed and was lost, or if it is only a legend, but many still speculate.

Krakatau (Krakatoa), Indonesia - 1883. The explosion was heard as far away as Perth, Australia (5000 km. away). 165 villages were destroyed and another 132 seriously damaged.

Mount Pelee, St. Pierre, West Indies - 1902. More than 29,000 people died.

Mount St. Helens, Washington - 1980. Somehow, people just didn't see this coming. Read the narrative of the disaster.

Nevado del Ruiz, Columbia - 1985. Killed more than 21,000 people. Considered the second most destructive volcanic eruption (just under Mt. Pelee) in the 20th century.


??--QUESTION: What do these, and others on the chart, have in common (besides being volcanoes and being destructive)? HINT: see an earlier post from the 3rd of Oct.

To find out more about volcanoes of the world, visit the USGS site on Noteable Volcanic Disasters.

For more information about the study of volcanoes, visit the Global Volcanism program.