The destructive power of a volcano is one of the most violent and deadly of all natural forces.
In a short period of time, these massive explosions of the earth’s crust can shatter whole communities. Volcanoes are very destructive no matter how big or small they erupt. They cause the highest amount of deaths and the greatest amount of damage. The two major types of volcanoes are andesitic and basaltic. Typical volcanoes begin life when a mass of low-density magma forces its way to the surface.
When the density of the rising magma is the same as that of the surrounding rock, it gathers in a magma chamber. Any rise in pressure in the chamber may push the magma upwards through cracks in the overlying rock. As the magma travels up a crack towards the surface, pressure from the overlying rocks reduces, gases are released from the magma, and they expand so suddenly that an explosion rips open a funnel-shaped vent (called a diatreme) to the surface. The lava that blasts out of the vent then cools to form cinders, ash, and dust – all referred to as Tephra”.
A ring of tephra collects around the vent and, as the eruption subsides, this blocks up the diatreme. Volcanoes have erupted in many different places, including The Philippines, Java, Papua New Guinea, and Hawaii. The Ring of Fire,” located around the Pacific Ocean, is a collection of 20 or so places with active volcanoes joined by one big imaginary line that forms a circle (or “Ring”) when scaled down to the size on a map. Somewhere in the world, an eruption occurs at least once a month. Whether it is big or small, it doesn’t really matter at all.
If it kills one person or one thousand people, it is still counted as an eruption. In some countries, volcanoes are common and erupt frequently, such as in Hawaii. However, in other countries like Australia, there are no eruptions at all. This could be because all the volcanoes are dormant or there are simply no volcanoes at all. In 1815, the most devastating eruption ever recorded killed approximately 92,000 people.
10,000 people died directly from the volcano, and a further 82,000 died from famine. The volcano is located at Tambora, Sumbawa in Indonesia. Recently, a volcano erupted in Monserrat, West Indies, devastating farms, houses, and turning streets into rivers of lava.
