Why Do People Live in Danger Zones?

 People choose to live in various places for various reasons. Although certain places can
be very dangerous due to natural disasters, people continue to live in there. Here are
some of the reasons we can consider:-

Mt Etna in Italy

Mt Fuji in Japan

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1. The people settled in these places without knowing the dangers lying underneath. In
Montserrat people lived on the island for 400 years before the volcanoes started erupting
again. So some stay without knowing the danger lying underneath. Science has only
improved in recent times for people to understand more about plates.
2. There is not enough space for people from these danger zones to move to. Some cities in
these danger zones are big such as Tokyo, Mexico City etc. Some people are too poor to
move.
3. Some people have gotten used to living in these dangerous places for cultural reasons.
Their ancestors have lived in these places for centuries and they just can’t move away to
new places. They have lived with disasters and once it happens they face it and move on
with hope.
4. Some of these places are well developed and they pay a good salary or profit in business
eg. Tokyo, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, USA, Italy etc.
5. The people in these places depend on new technology like quakeproof buildings, modern
rescue efforts, scientific early warning systems among others.

Some Benefits of Volcanic Eruptions

1. The volcanic eruptions bring minerals to the soil making them very fertile for
growing crops.
2. Volcanoes build features which are used to attract tourists like the Blue Lagoon in
Iceland, Mt. Fuji in Japan, the Old Faithful Geyser in Yellowstone National Park,
USA.
3. Volcanoes can also be used to generate geothermal energy. Water is pumped down
pipes laid on hot rocks and when it boils, its steam is used to move turbines. USA,
Iceland, New Zealand and Japan are the leading countries in geothermal energy.
4. Volcanic eruptions can also bring out valuable materials such as copper, silver and
gold. We also get basalt used for road construction.
5. Most of the fossil deposits are found in the plate boundaries. This includes oil, gas
and coal deposits which we use for energy.

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Geothermal Power Plant in Iceland

Quakeproof Buildings

Fertile land in Antigua & Barbuda

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 Fertile Farming Land in the Philippines

Tourists at a Geyser in Yellowstone National Park