Hazards - Mount Etna Sicily - Volcano CS

Question 1

What hazards occurred?

Answer 1

• Ash emissions
• Eject lots of lava
• Pyroclastics fell as ash (40 - 50 million cm3)
• tephra

Question 2

Why live there?

Answer 2

Reigning produces red and white wine - rich fertile soils - 100,000 yrs of weathering

Question 3

Why do people live there?

Answer 3

• tourism -> employment
• auxiliary industries -> eg. Taxis, laundries
• hotel, cable cars

Question 4

What is the GDP per capita?

Answer 4

$42,000

Question 5

What is the HDI?

Answer 5

29th out of 189

Question 6

What type of volcano is mount etna?

Answer 6

• most active volcano in the world
• strata volcano on east coast

Question 7

How much of Sicily’s pop live in Etnas slopes?

Answer 7

> 25%

Question 8

What’s peoples perception of the place?

Answer 8

• fatalistic belief
• accept the threat
• volcano part of the community -> cultural links

Question 9

What boundary does Etna live on?

Answer 9

• a convergent plate boundary
  ( African and Eurasia plate)

Question 10

What type of eruption is it?

Answer 10

• ejects lots of lava
• Strombolian eruption

Question 11

What are the short term impacts on people?

Answer 11

• health -> difficulty breathing
• displaced people -> due to damaged buildings -> ground deformation
• tephra falls in southern flanks > paralysed public life in Catania

Question 12

What are the long term impacts on people?

Answer 12

• Brought about a heightened awareness of hazards -> changed perception -> fear
• 2013 analysis of lava flow showed them to be more dangerous -> pop at risk
• Etna slides towards the sea -> tsunamis -> take 500,000 years before it collapses

Question 13

What are the impacts on the country?
- classify into environmental, economic, political

Answer 13

EN: major force of harmful compounds
- aerosols, gasses (passive degassing)
- southern flank vents destroyed forest (lava)

P: govt (1991) reduced taxes to get through crisis and handed out more than £5.6m in aid

E: skiing areas in Piano Provenzana > destroyed nearly by lava
- ash on runways airport closed for 2 weeks > $8million repair

Question 14

what was Etnas VEI?

Answer 14

1-2

Question 15

What mitigation was done against the event?

Answer 15

• lava been diverted with bombs disrupts the flow > US suggest more targeted larger bombs
• civil protection sent in helicopters to set out fire with water
• barrier built 400m long > saved $5-25 million
  -2002 emergency worker dug channels to divert north flow from town

Question 16

What was the mitigation against vulnerability?

Answer 16

• have the most sophisticated monitoring systems on earth > ground vibrations, gas emissions, surveillance cameras, underwater sensors, thermal cameras
• in 1991, Italian govt promised tax cuts for villagers to help them in crisis > provided $5.6mil in aid

Question 17

What were the mitigation against losses?

Answer 17

• council workers sweeping thick layers of ash from streets
• ship equipped with medical equipment (clinic) > south of volcano ready in emergency