Primary Effects of Volcanic Eruptions
Primary Effects of Volcanic Eruptions
Listed below are the primary effects that volcanic eruptions have on people and the environment.
Suffocation
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.
Crop and livestock deaths
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.
Damaged buildings
Damaged buildings
- Lava and hot ash can damage houses and start fires. This can leave people homeless.
Human deaths
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.