Monserrat Volcano

Monserrat Volcano

Background
1. Soufriere Volcano in Monserrat in the Caribbean Sea
2. The volcano erupted in early June 1997
3. There was a large eruption exploding 4-5 m3 of rocks and gas
4. Death toll reached 19
Cause
1. Monserrat is above a destructive plate margin
  1. The Atlantic plate is being subducted by the less dense Caribbean plate
2. Magma rose through cracks under the Soufriere hills causing an underground pool of magma to be formed
  1. The rock above this pool collapsed opening a vent and causing the eruption
Impacts
1. Primary Impacts
  1. Many areas were covered by rock
    1. Capital city, Plymouth, was buried under 12m of mud and ash
  2. Over 20 villages were destroyed by pyroclastic flows
    1. pyroclastic flows are fast moving clouds of hot gas and ash
  3. Schools, hospitals, the port and airport were all immediately destroyed
  4. 19 deaths and 7 injured
2. Secondary Impacts
  1. Fires destroyed many buildings including government offices, the police HQ and the towns central petrol station
  2. Tourist stayed away from the area after the eruption out of fear, this was bad for the economy as tourism is a large industry
  3. Population decline
    1. 8000 people (67%) left after the first eruption in 1995
  4. Volcanic ash released during the eruption has improved the fertility of the soil
  5. Tourism is increasing more recently
    1. People are interested in the volcano
Responses
1. Primary Responses
  1. People were immediately evacuated from the south to safer Northern areas
  2. Temporary shelters were made
    1. These later became more permanent
  3. Temporary infrastructure was built
    1. e.g. roads and temp. electricity supplies
      1. priorities
  4. Local emergency services provided support units to search for and rescue survivors
  5. The UK provided £17 million of emergency aid
    1. Monserrat is an overseas UK territory
2. Secondary Responses
  1. A risk map was created
    1. This included exclusion zones for the safety of the locals
    2. Now all of the south is off limits whilst the volcano is still active
  2. The UK has provided £41 million to help develop the North of the island
  3. Monserrat Volcano Observatory has been set up to try to predict future eruptions

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