Montserrat volcanic eruption
LO: to produce a case study of thecauses, effects (long and short term)and responses to the eruption
What to include in your case study
1. Describe the location of Montserrat- you could include a sketch map
2. What caused the eruption?
3. List the Primary and Secondary hazards of the Soufriere Hills volcano
4. Which part of the island was evacuated first, and when did this takeplace ?
5. What is a pyroclastic flow ?
6. Describe the long and short term effects of the eruption
7. How is the hazard of the volcanic activity 'managed' ?
8. Why is the fact that the south of the island has been most badly hita particular problem for the people of Montserrat ?
9. What role did the British have to play in the evacuation of theisland?
•The Soufriere Hills volcano began to erupt in 1995following a long period of inactivity (hadn't erupted for350 years). Until the eruptions it was 'The Emerald Isle'of the Caribbean. The eruptions forced the evacuationof the capital Plymouth and the part of the island thatwas actually the most densely population - and forgood reason as it had the best advantages forsettlement. Pyroclastic flows killed some of the peoplewho returned against advice, and have also created anarea of new land as the debris has been deposited offthe coast. In some places, the flows travelled out overthe ocean for some distance before stopping.
"Hot, hot, hot" the Soca anthemby Montserratian Arrow, nowtakes on a new meaning.....
Photograph by Adam Goss http://people.cornell.edu/pages/arg32/watson/montserrat.html and used with permission
What is the future for Montserrat?
Photograph by Adam Goss http://people.cornell.edu/pages/arg32/watson/montserrat.html and used with permission
In August of 1997, a series of pyroclasticflows and lahars (mudflows) destroyed thecapital city of Plymouth
Photograph by Adam Goss http://people.cornell.edu/pages/arg32/watson/montserrat.html and used with permission
Photographs from MVO http://www.mvo.ms/ and used with permission
Coral reefs have beendamaged and fish stocksaffected
Most of the islands smallbusinesses have beenforced to close
Photograph from MVO http://www.mvo.ms/ and used with permission
Nearly 8,000 peopleout of a totalpopulation of 12,000left the island fornearby Antigua, somewent to the USA andBritain.
Today, Montserratians are rebuilding their country withhelp from the British Government. Slowly, people aremoving out of the shelters or back from abroad toresettle in developments constructed in the North.
Photograph by Adam Goss http://people.cornell.edu/pages/arg32/watson/montserrat.html and used with permission
The north of the islandremains untouched bythe volcano.
Photograph by Adam Goss http://people.cornell.edu/pages/arg32/watson/montserrat.html and used with permission
Photograph by Adam Goss http://people.cornell.edu/pages/arg32/watson/montserrat.html and used with permission
What would this Montserratresident have to say about thefuture?
Think about …
Social problems
Economic problems
Environmental issues
What are the short termpriorities?
What are the long termneeds?
What to include in your case study
1. Describe the location of Montserrat- you could include a sketch map
2. What caused the eruption?
3. List the Primary and Secondary hazards of the Soufriere Hills volcano
4. Which part of the island was evacuated first, and when did this takeplace ?
5. What is a pyroclastic flow ?
6. Describe the long and short term effects of the eruption
7. How is the hazard of the volcanic activity 'managed' ?
8. Why is the fact that the south of the island has been most badly hita particular problem for the people of Montserrat ?
9. What role did the British have to play in the evacuation of theisland?
What to include in your case study
1. Describe the location of Montserrat- you could include a sketch map
2. What caused the eruption?
3. List the Primary and Secondary hazards of the Soufriere Hills volcano
4. Which part of the island was evacuated first, and when did this takeplace ?
5. What is a pyroclastic flow ?
6. Describe the long and short term effects of the eruption
7. How is the hazard of the volcanic activity 'managed' ?
8. Why is the fact that the south of the island has been most badly hita particular problem for the people of Montserrat ?
9. What role did the British have to play in the evacuation of theisland?
What to include in your case study
1. Describe the location of Montserrat- you could include a sketch map
2. What caused the eruption?
3. List the Primary and Secondary hazards of the Soufriere Hills volcano
4. Which part of the island was evacuated first, and when did this takeplace ?
5. What is a pyroclastic flow ?
6. Describe the long and short term effects of the eruption
7. How is the hazard of the volcanic activity 'managed' ?
8. Why is the fact that the south of the island has been most badly hita particular problem for the people of Montserrat ?
9. What role did the British have to play in the evacuation of theisland?
What to include in your case study
1. Describe the location of Montserrat- you could include a sketch map
2. What caused the eruption?
3. Which part of the island was evacuated first, and when did this takeplace ?
4. What is a pyroclastic flow ?
5. Describe the long and short term effects of the eruption
6. How is the hazard of the volcanic activity 'managed' ?
7. Why is the fact that the south of the island has been most badly hita particular problem for the people of Montserrat ?
8. What role did the British have to play in the evacuation of theisland?
KEY FACTS
Think of these as 'bullet points' - a usefulREVISION technique is to try to reduce anytopic down to just 10 bullet points whichcontain the main aspects of what it is youwant to get across....
KEY FACTS
•Montserrat is a British colony, part of the Antilles Island Arc of the Caribbean. It is at theborder of the North and South American plates with the Caribbean plate
•On 18th July 1995, the Soufriere Hills volcano came back to life and started erupting,threatening everyone on the 12km x 8km island
•Pyroclastic flows and ash falls started to threaten the capital city of Plymouth, and thesurrounding area. The southern half of the island (previously the most populated area) had tobe evacuated - over 8000 people left the island.
•The eruptions occur because the area is a place where 3 plates meet. The North Americanplate is subducted beneath the Caribbean plate. The molten rock rises to the surface. Domesformed in the crater of the Chance's Peak volcano, and when these collapsed, pyroclasticflows flowed down the Tar River valley.
•Hazards from the volcano included pyroclastic flows, lahars (rapidly moving slurry of ash andwater from volcanic debris), ash and tephra fall, earthquakes and volcanic gases (includingcarbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide)
•The capital was abandoned and the airport had to be closed. The tourist trade declined.
•The theoretical risk from the volcano can be expressed as RISK = PEOPLE, PROPERTY xHAZARD x VULNERABILITY
•Instruments were put in place around the volcano to give advance warning of earthmovements, and tiltmeters were put in place to check for pressure building inside thevolcano; gas detectors were put in place
•People were evacuated from the highest risk area: the Exclusion Zone
•There were devastating effects on the population: the evacuation of the capital city meantthe island lost all the main services, such as schools, hospitals and government offices,tourists stopped coming, the rice processing industry collapsed, unemployment rose fromless than 10% to 50%, people suffered psychological problems, skills shortage as people left