Natural Disasters and Family Misfortunes: Volcanoes, Part 2

I wrote about the impact of volcanoes in a Discover Genealogy blog post on 17 October 2017, titled Natural Disasters and Family Misfortunes 8: Volcanoes. This is Volcanoes, Part 2.

If you could trace back your family to AD 79 in southern Italy, you might have had ancestors who escaped or were killed by the eruption of Vesuvius. If you have family members living on the big island in Hawaii, they may have lost their homes in the recent eruption of Kilauea.

Your ancestors did not have to live on the edge of volcanoes, though, to have been affected. The 1815 eruption of Tambora in Indonesia affected almost every part of the world, causing the Year Without Summer. The 1883 eruption of Krakatau, also in the Indonesian Archipelago, had similar effects on the world as ash and gases blanketed the Earth, shutting out the sun for long periods and precipitating noxious rainfall that hampered crop growth. Climatic patterns were disrupted for years.

These problems paled in comparison to the instant deaths of tens of thousands nearer to the volcanoes who died from the explosions, burial by debris or tsunamis which swept across coastal regions around the Pacific Ocean.

Closer to Europe, ash and gases released by the Laki fissure in Iceland in 1783 had some serious deleterious effects on people across Europe.

 

Map of Iceland and Europe showing the main path of ash and volcanic gases from the 1783 Laki eruption

In more recent times, an eruption, again in Iceland of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano caused major disruption to air travel and affected air quality over a large area.

 

Overlooking the Eyjafjallajökull glacier and the ongoing volcano eruption from Hvolsvöllur on April 17th, 2010; author Henrik Thorburn; used under Creative Commons License 3.0; downloaded 19 February 2019 from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eyjafjallajokull_volcano_plume_2010_04_17.jpg

Composite map showing the position of the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud that closed European air space in different days; used under Creative Commons License 3.0; downloaded 19 February 2019 from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eyjafjallaj%C3%B6kull_volcanic_ash_composite.png. Based on maps found at http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/aviation/vaac/vaacuk_vag.html

This was but a minor eruption in the grand scheme of things but gives us a good idea of what effects volcanoes can have on people’s lives and community activities.

Recently a report was issued by the United States Geological Survey concerning the current threat from volcanic activity in the USA. I thought it might be of interest to update readers on the potential for disasters of this type.

You can read and download the report here. https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/sir20185140  

Most of us do not live near active volcanoes so have little to fear from their eruptions. In fact, most of our ancestors did not live close to them either and, other than from gases and ash carried thousands of miles to where they did live, people had little to be concerned about.

But volcanoes can obviously be highly destructive.

The report says that, “The United States is one of Earth’s most volcanically active countries, having within its territory more than 10 percent of the known active and potentially active volcanoes. . .  Since 1980, there have been 120 eruptions and 52 episodes of notable volcanic unrest (increased seismicity, observed ground deformation, and (or) gas emission) at 44 U.S. volcanoes.”

Now, granted, most of them have been dormant for a long time or are in locations far removed from significant population centres. The threat assessment is based “on objective measures of volcano hazards and exposure of people and infrastructure to those hazards.” One of the most active is in Hawaii which heads the list of very high-threat volcanoes. We have all seen the videos of the latest eruption at the lower east rift zone of Kilauea-Puʻu ʻŌʻō which has destroyed dozens of homes in Leilani Estates. The future of the subdivision is in question.

Helicopter overflight of Kīlauea Volcano's lower East Rift zone on 19 May 2018, around 8:18 AM, HST. ‘A‘ā lava flows emerging from the elongated fissure 16-20 form channels. The flow direction in this picture is from upper center to the lower left; source United States Geological Survey https://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/multimedia/uploads/multimediaFile-2062.jpg

A surprising number of the more dangerous volcanoes are along the west coast of the continental US. Eleven of the 18 locations labelled as high risk are in Washington, Oregon and California. Several others in the region have moderate to high risk. The western edge of the North American continent is, of course, an active region for earthquakes (another potential threat to lives) and volcanism, extending from Mexico to Alaska.

From the viewpoint of genealogy, volcanic eruptions of the past have been the cause of thousands of direct deaths, changes or alterations of weather and climate that resulted in famine, death or displacement and major migration of people facing threats to their lives or livelihoods. The modern world provides no exceptions to these threats although we do have systems in place to forewarn of eruptions, allowing people to get out of the way. Notwithstanding the warning systems in place, we have seen in recent years the potential harm to health and transportation of significant eruptions.

Did your ancestors get sick or die during one of these events?