Written by Lily Chalmers
Introduction
A volcano is a big hill/mountain that erupts lava and has been known to knock
down an entire forest. In the text below you will learn what to do if you are
stuck in this situation, what to get and where to go. You will learn about a
famous volcano that erupted in 1883 in Indonesia at an island called Krakatoa.
How does a volcano occur?
Volcanos can occur when pressure builds up
and hot liquid works its way up to the
surface of the volcano. At the surface the
volcano erupts and lava flows and ash fly’s
away and normally forms a cloud. Over time
as the volcano continues to erupt the
volcano will get bigger and bigger.
Where do volcanoes occur?
Volcanoes form at the edges where two plates meet, sometimes when this
happens magma may be released and cause a volcano to erupt. Many plates
bump into each other around the pacific ocean which is called the ring of
fire. The ring of fire is one of the world’s largest volcano zones! When the
plate gets deep enough inside the mantle, some of
the rock melts and forms magma that can move up
to the surface of the volcano which can then
erupt. A volcano doesn’t have to be formed on
the ring of fire because Hawaii is mostly known
for volcanoes and Hawaii is not close to the ring
of fire. When this happens that means Hawaii is
on a hot spot which can cause a volcano to erupt.
Famous Krakatoa
On August 1883 the volcano on Indonesia called Krakatoa erupted with 13,000
time the power of a bomb! The sound of the volcano was heard thousands of
miles away, as far as the islands off the eastern coast of Africa. Many
Sumatran villages were wiped out almost instantly. When the lava came over
their villages all their homes were burnt to the ground. An estimated 36,000
people died. Krakatoa still occasional spits out lava into the sky. The volcano
eruption was one of the most deadly volcano eruption in the world!
What is the effect of a volcano?
In Krakatoa more than 36,000 people died when Krakatoa erupted. Many
people also died as a result of major injuries from the blast of the volcano and
many more victims died from the tsunami
that followed with the collapse of the
volcano into the large volcanic crater,
below the sea level. From the major
eruption leading to the collapse of the
mouth of the volcano. Overall 165 villages
were destroyed and 132 villages were
damaged. Which ended up costing over
$1.5billion!
What warning signs show that a volcano is about to erupt?
The warning signs when you know a volcano is about to erupt is when small
earthquakes happen beneath the volcano and slight inflation or swelling. Most
volcanoes give warning signs that’s it is going to erupt weeks or months before.
There is lots of signs but depending on how close the volcano is the most
common type of monitoring is seismicity.
How to stay safe before, during and after a volcanic eruption.
Be prepared to either take shelter or evacuate. If you evacuate you will need a
flashlight and extra batteries, first aid kit, emergency food and water,
medicine, runners (shoes), breathing protection (mask) and eye protection
(goggles or sunglasses). If you live near a volcano you should plan or already
know your evacuation route and always have fuel in your
car in case you need to evacuate and use your vehicle. Stay
away from lava, mudflows and flying rocks. Before you
evacuate change into appropriate clothes for example a
long sleeve top, long pants and if you don’t have a mask put
a damp cloth over your face. If you are not evacuating
block all windows and doors, chimneys and other vents
from ash coming in.
Conclusion
Overall we have learnt a lot about volcanoes and a famous volcano called
Krakatoa. Also how they are formed and when and how to stay safe during a
volcano eruption. Volcanoes can be a very deadly natural disaster but if you
follow all the precautions, I am sure you will stay safe.