1.2.9

Primary Effects of Volcanoes

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Primary Effects of Volcanic Eruptions

Listed below are the primary effects that volcanic eruptions have on people and the environment.

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Suffocation

  • Ash can cause suffocation and can bury places and people (as in the case of Herculaneum and Pompeii when Vesuvius erupted in 79AD).
  • The gases produced (like sulfur) can also suffocate people.
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Crop and livestock deaths

  • After a volcanic eruption, ash can cover fields of crops in volcanic rock and kill livestock. This can lead to famine or starvation, as people can no longer eat the crops they grow or livestock that they raise.
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Damaged buildings

  • Lava and hot ash can damage houses and start fires. This can leave people homeless.
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Human deaths

  • Volcanic bombs (large pieces of magma/lava) can burn people or knock people out.
  • Pyroclastic flows (masses of very hot ash, lava fragments and gases) destroy everything in their path, including buildings, homes, workplaces.
  • People can die as a result of any of these.

Jump to other topics

1The Challenge of Natural Hazards

1.1Natural Hazards

1.2Tectonic Hazards

1.3Weather Hazards

1.4Climate Change

2The Living World

3Physical Landscapes in the UK

3.1The UK Physical Landscape

3.2Coastal Landscapes in the UK

3.3River Landscapes in the UK

3.4Glacial Landscapes in the UK

4Urban Issues & Challenges

5The Changing Economic World

6The Challenge of Resource Management

6.1Resource Management

6.2Food

6.3Water

6.4Energy

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