The lahar-hazard risk reduction cannot be effectively accomplished without the active, impartial involvement of volcano scientists as they play a critical role in educating emergency managers, public officials, and at-risk populations about lahar hazards, a research paper published in Journal of Applied Volcanology 2014 has mentioned.
The paper has reviewed a number of methods for lahar-hazard risk reduction, examined the limitations and tradeoffs, and provided real-world examples of their application in the U.S. Pacific Northwest and in other volcanic regions of the world.
According to the natural disaster research article, primary lahars between AD 1600 and 2010 have killed 37,451 people worldwide, including 23,080 in the 1985 Nevado del Ruiz disaster alone.
"An effective hazard education program begins when scientists inform people in vulnerable communities about past hazardous events and current threats—information necessary for preparedness for future events", research paper has mentioned.
The research has came up with the conclusion that lahar-hazard risk reduction cannot be effectively accomplished without the active, impartial involvement of volcano scientists.
Lahars are rapid flows of mud–rock slurries that can occur without warning and catastrophically impact areas more than 100 km downstream of source volcanoes.
Journal Reference:
Thomas C Pierson, Nathan J Wood and Carolyn L Driedger (2014). Reducing risk from lahar hazards: concepts, case studies, and roles for scientists. Journal of Applied Volcanology 2014, 3:16 doi:10.1186/s13617-014-0016-4
Thomas C Pierson, Nathan J Wood and Carolyn L Driedger (2014). Reducing risk from lahar hazards: concepts, case studies, and roles for scientists. Journal of Applied Volcanology 2014, 3:16 doi:10.1186/s13617-014-0016-4
Original post: Natural Disasters List December 10, 2014