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Volcanoes are of two types: EXPLOSIVE and ERUPTIVE.
The first have a very viscous lava that easily clogs the volcanic chimney creating a cap of solid lave that resists only until the underlying pressure becomes so high to create a tremendous expolsion, like the one that destroyed Santorini island in Greece (1450 B.C.), the eruption of Vesuvium that destroyed Pompeii (79 A.C.), the explosion of Krakatoa, in Indonesia (1882), the explosion of Mt. Pelee, in Martinique (1902)and, recently, that of St. Helens volcano in Washington State, U.S.A..

In these cases, whole populations have been killed by the ashes and lapilli falling from the vulcano, so, I personally never lived near an explosive volcano.

Instead, the volcanoes of the second type, with more fluid lava, can give violent eruption , but producing rather slow lava flows, allowing the time of diffusing the alarm in the area and evacuate people. This is the case of Etna, (Sicily, 3345 m), of Niragongo (Zaire) and others.
Also their damages are limited only to the area covered by lava flows.
I could accept to live and work near a volcano like this, but NEVER along its flanks, because this is just the area at risk for lava. I wouldn't like to lose my house, bought with many sacrifices.
I'm very interesrted and fascinated by volcanoes and the incredible, spectacular force they produce, but I know that it's necessary to be prudent in living there and investing in houses and estates over there.

Here in Italy, just along the highly explosive Vesuvium, whose last explosion occurred in 1944 (nothing, in the geological scale), prudence has not been followed and the area around it is very overcrowded and many residential buildings (often abusive, as usual in that zone) have been placed also along the flanks of the volcano (1279 m high) and they wouldn't have any chance, in case of explosion.
A wide and modern monitoring and alert network has been set on the volcano to forecast its "intentions", but in case of a serious danger, a minimum of 800,000 people should be evacuated and, maybe, also part of Neaples!
Could you imagine the immense economic and social damage of moving such a mass of people, arranging them in great refugee camps few weeks before a possible explosion?

Learn more about this author, Aldo Bonincontro.
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