*

At the end of the session, the learners are

expected to:
1. Describe different types of volcanic hazards
2. Differentiate among types of volcanic
hazards
3. State importance of knowing types of
volcanic hazards

*
*Give names of
volcanoes , its
location and
eruption history
* Volcanic hazards are
phenomena arising from
volcanic activity that pose
potential threat to persons or
property in a given area
within a given period of time.

*
* Lava Flows
* Ashfall or tephra fall
* Pyroclastic flows and surges (Pyroclastic
density current
* Lahars
* Volcanic gases
* Debris avalanche or volcanic landslide
* Ballistic projectiles
* Tsunami

*
*Lava Flows are stream-like
flows of incandescent molten
rock erupted from a crater or
fissure.
*When lava is degassed and/or
very viscous, it tends to
extrude extremely slowly,
forming lava domes.
*
*Negative Impacts:
*Lava flows rarely threaten human life
because lava usually moves slowly -- a few
centimeters per hour for silicic flows to
several km/hour for basaltic flows. Most
characterize this as quiet effusion of lava.
Major hazards of lava flows -- burying,
crushing, covering, burning everything in
their path.
*Lavas can burn. The intense heat of lavas melt and burn.
As lava flows are hot and incandescent, areas it covers are
burned (forest, built up areas, houses).
*Lavas can bury. Lavas can bury homes and agricultural
areas under meters of hardened rock. Areas affected by
lava flows once solidified are also rendered useless and
will not be useful anymore (for agriculture, etc) for years
due to the solid nature of the lava deposit. Lavas can also
block bridges and highways, affecting mobility and
accessibility of people and communities.
*Collapsing viscous lava domes can trigger dangerous
pyroclastic flows.

*
*Ashfall or tephra fall are showers of
airborne fine- to coarse-grained
volcanic particles that fallout from the
plumes of a volcanic eruption; ashfall
distribution/ dispersal is dependent on
prevailing wind direction

*
* Negative Impacts:
* Ashfall endanger life and property by During peak of
eruption with excessive ash, can cause poor or low visibility
(driving, slippery roads)
* Loss of agricultural lands if burial by ashfall is greater than 10
cm depth,
* Producing suspensions of fine-grained particles in air and
water which clogs filters and vents of motors, human lungs,
industrial machines, and nuclear power plants.

*
*Ash suspended in air is also
dangerous for aircrafts as the
abrasive ash can cause the engines to
fail if the suspended ash is
encountered by the airplane
*Carrying of harmful (even poisonous,
unpleasant) gases, acids, salts, and,
close to the vent, heat.
*
*Burial by tephra can collapse roofs of
buildings, break power and communication
lines and damage or kill vegetation. Even
thin (<2 cm) falls of ash can damage such
critical facilities as hospitals, electric-
generating plants, pumping stations, storm
sewers and surface-drainage systems and
sewage treatment plants, and short circuit
electric-transmission facilities, telephone
lines, radio and television transmitters.
*
*Pyroclastic flows and surges (Pyroclastic
density current) are turbulent mass of
ejected fragmented volcanic materials (ash
and rocks), mixed with hot gases (200oC to
700oC to as hot as 900oC) that flow
downslope at very high speeds (>60kph).
*Surges are the more dilute, more mobile
derivatives or pyroclastic flows.
*
*Pyroclastic flows and surges are
potentially highly destructive owing to
their mass, high temperature, high
velocity and great mobility.

*
*Pyroclastic flows can
• Destroy anything on its path by direct
impact
• Burn sites with hot rocks debris
• Burn forests, farmlands, destroy crops
and buildings

*
*Deadly effects include asphyxiation
(inhalation of hot ash and gases), burial,
incineration (burns) and crushing from
impacts.
*The only effective method of risk
mitigation is evacuation prior to such
eruptions from areas likely to be affected
by pyroclastic density currents
*
*Lahars are rapidly flowing thick
mixture of volcanic sediments
(from the pyroclastic materials)
and water, usually triggered by
intense rainfall during typhoons,
monsoons and thunderstorms.

*
*• Lahars can destroy by direct impact
(bridges, roads, houses)
*• Lahars can block tributary stream and
form a lake. This can submerged villages
within the valley of the tributary that was
blocked, there is also the danger of the
dammed lake breaching or lake breakout and
if this happens, this puts to danger the lives
of people in communities downstream

*
* Lahars can bury valleys and
communities with debris
* Lahars can lead to increased
deposition of sediments along
affected rivers and result to
long-term flooding problems in
the low-lying downstream
communities.
*
*Volcanic gases- gases and
aerosols released into the
atmosphere, which include
water vapor, hydrogen
sulfide, sulfur dioxide, carbon
monoxide, hydrogen chloride,
hydrogen fluoride

*
*Sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon dioxide
(CO2), and hydrogen flouride (HF) are
some volcanic gases that pose hazard to
people, animals, agriculture and property.
SO2 can lead to acid rain. High
concentrations of CO2 which is colorless
and odorless can be lethal to people,
animals and vegetation.
*Fluorine compounds can deform and kill
animals that grazed on vegetation covered
with volcanic ash.
*
*Debris avalanche or volcanic landslide-
massive collapse of a volcano, usually
triggered by an earthquake or volcanic
eruption. An example of recent debris
avalanche event occurred during the 1980
eruption of Mt. St Helens.
*Based on present morphology of volcanoes,
Iriga Volcano in Camarines Sur, Banahaw
Volcano and Quezon Province and Kanlaon
Volcano had pre-historic debris avalanche
events.
*
*When a huge portion of the side of
a volcano collapses due to slope
failure. This results to massive
destruction similar to what
happened in Mt. St. Helens in the
USA in 1980.

*
*Ballistic projectiles are
Volcanic materials directly
ejected from the volcano’s
vent with force and trajectory

*
*Ballistic projectiles endanger
life and property by the force of
impact of falling fragments, but
this occurs only close to an
eruption vent.
*
*Tsunami- sea waves or wave
trains that are generated by
sudden displacement of water
(could be generated during
undersea eruptions or debris
avalanches)
*
*An eruption that occurs near a
body of water may generate
tsunamis if the pyroclastic
materials enter the body of water
and cause it to be disturbed and
displaced, forming huge waves.

*
*TRUE
OR
FALSE?
1.Pyroclastic flows and
surges are potentially
highly destructive
owing to their mass,
high temperature, high
velocity and great
mobility.
*2. Lahars are rapidly flowing thick
mixture of volcanic sediments (from the
pyroclastic materials) and water, usually
triggered by intense rainfall during
typhoons, monsoons and thunderstorms.
*3. Lava flows are
considered the most
dangerous type of hazard
from a volcano and is
always a big threat to
human lives.
*4. During eruption,
excessive ashfall is
dangerous as it can
cause poor or low
visibility.
*5. Ash from volcanoes are also
abrasive, because of this, ash
suspended in air is also
dangerous for airplanes as this
can cause the engines to fail if
the suspended ash is
encountered by the airplane.
*6. High concentrations of
CO2 which is colorless
and odorless can be lethal
to people, animals and
vegetation.