Volcanic Eruption-Monserrat Flashcards
(18 cards)
Where is Montserrat located?
Lesser Antilles island arc (Caribbean)
What type of volcano is Montserrat?
Composite
What happened in July 1995?
Lava at the top of the volcano became too heavy and the dome collapsed
What did the dome collapse cause?
Andesitic lava and pyroclastic flows
What happened in April 1996?
Entire population of Plymouth forced to move
What happened on 25th June 1997
Catastrophic eruption
What happened during the Chances peak eruption?
• Dome collapsed
• 5 million cubic metres of hot rock and gas sent down its sides
• Plymouth covered by pyroclastic flow
How many people were killed by pyroclastic flows?
19
What proportion of houses were destroyed?
2/3
What happened to the islands airport?
Completely destroyed
How much farmland and and infrastructure was destroyed?
3/4
How many people were evacuated?
11,000 people, more than half the population
Where were people evacuated to?
Antigua, USA, UK
When was the most recent eruption?
February 2010
What was set up in 1995?
Montserrat volcano observatory
How were people stopped from entering certain areas?
Exclusion zones
What happened short term?
• Red Cross set up temp schools
• Warning systems set up
• Troops from USA and UK aided evacuation
• £17 million in UK aid
What happened long term?
• 3 yr development programme
• 1998 granted full uk residency rights
• 2005 many moved back
• 2/3 island remains excluded
• plants slowly regrowing
• Volcano became a tourist attraction
• UK aid exceeded £420 million
