5.a. There are various strategies to manage hazards from volcano activity.

Question 1

Why was volcano management not a high priority in Indonesia?

(History)
(Mitigating vulnerability)
(Case study: Living with volcanoes - Indonesia)

Answer 1

Indonesia was a Dutch colony until the end of the Second World War, so emergence into independence was accompanied by political tension.

Managing volcanoes therefore was given a low priority.

Question 2

When was Indonesia’s CVGHM established?

(CVGHM)
(Mitigating vulnerability)
(Case study: Living with volcanoes - Indonesia)

Answer 2

Established in 1920.

Question 3

What is the CVGHM’s key division? What has it done?

(CVGHM)
(Mitigating vulnerability)
(Case study: Living with volcanoes - Indonesia)

Answer 3

Volcano Observation Section.

It has constructed permanent observatories on several active volcanoes over many years.

Question 4

When was the first seismograph set up on Mount Merapi? What was limited? What has CVGHM managed to do over time?

(CVGHM)
(Mitigating vulnerability)
(Case study: Living with volcanoes - Indonesia)

Answer 4

In 1924, but the capability of the technology at that time was limited.

Gradually, CVGHM has been able to upgrade the monitoring instruments and widen their geographical coverage; with more than 60 volcanoes now being monitored.

Question 5

What does sophisticated volcano equipment measure?

(CVGHM)
(Mitigating vulnerability)
(Case study: Living with volcanoes - Indonesia)

Answer 5

• Gas emissions.
• Inflation as magma rises.
• Earthquake activity (in some of Indonesia’s volcanoes).

Question 6

The CVGHM also works closely with who? What do they do?

(CVGHM)
(Mitigating vulnerability)
(Case study: Living with volcanoes - Indonesia)

Answer 6

With local governments.

They advise them on mitigation strategies such as community preparedness.

Question 7

What is forbidden on Mount Merapi?

(CVGHM)
(Mitigating vulnerability)
(Case study: Living with volcanoes - Indonesia)

Answer 7

Permanent settlement is forbidden on the highest slopes around the crater.

Question 8

What were villagers on Merapi’s southern slopes (greatest risk) encouraged to do?

(CVGHM)
(Mitigating vulnerability)
(Case study: Living with volcanoes - Indonesia)

Answer 8

Encouraged to relocate to safe zones, in some cases receiving financial assistance and a small plot of land as incentives to move.

Question 9

How does Indonesia’s climate make volcano mitigation challenging?

(Climate)
(Mitigating vulnerability)
(Case study: Living with volcanoes - Indonesia)

Answer 9

Lahar threat is especially high due to the quantities of ash erupted by Indonesian volcanoes and the country’s humid tropical climate with high levels of rainfall (> 1800 mm per annum).

The rainy season, between November and March, is when lahars pose their biggest threat.

Question 10

When was NADM established?

(NADM)
(Mitigating vulnerability)
(Case study: Living with volcanoes - Indonesia)

Answer 10

Established in 2008.

Question 11

What has NADM (and associations) done to mitigate eruptions?

(NADM)
(Mitigating vulnerability)
(Case study: Living with volcanoes - Indonesia)

Answer 11

In association with university researchers, both Indonesian and foreign, lahar sensors and closed-circuit television have been installed to monitor locations at greatest risk.

Question 12

People have a strong bond with their village site and their family fields, what does this result in them doing?

(Mitigating loss)
(Case study: Living with volcanoes - Indonesia)

Answer 12

Results in them often returning, rebuilding, and accepting the risks.

Question 13

Indonesia is a EDC country, what does this mean for deployable resources? What communities are at most risk from limited resources?

(Mitigating loss)
(Case study: Living with volcanoes - Indonesia)

Answer 13

Resources it can deploy once an eruption is underway are limited.

Many of the farming communities affected also have limited resources.

Question 14

Although Indonesia may not have great resources, what does it have?

(Mitigating loss)
(Case study: Living with volcanoes - Indonesia)

Answer 14

Well-trained and well-equipped emergency services, including the military - experienced in search and rescue.

Temporary shelters in safe zones are available in case of evacuation and sometimes these are upgraded into permanent residential areas.

Question 15

What have Indonesian authorities done to mitigate environmental volcanic impacts? What is displaced material used for?

(Mitigating loss)
(Case study: Living with volcanoes - Indonesia)

Answer 15

Cleared river channels of volcanic material and other debris in order to reduce the risk of flooding and to contain lahars.

Some of this material has a commercial value and has been used for rebuilding houses and community facilities.

Question 16

What does CVGHM stand for? NADM?

(Case study: Living with volcanoes - Indonesia)

Answer 16

CVGHM: Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation.

NADM: National Agency for Disaster Management.

Question 17

Outline Italy’s tectonic setting.

(Case study: Living with volcanoes - Italy)

Answer 17

Complicated by several fracture zones in the Mediterranean where the African and Eurasian plates meet; it is one of the most complicated tectonic settings in the world.

Question 18

There have been several well-documented eruptions in the past, state what volcanoes they came from.

(Case study: Living with volcanoes - Italy)

Answer 18

Mount Etna: one of the most active volcanoes in the world.

Mount Vesuvius: infamous for its destruction of Pompeii.

Question 19

Italy has had some local-scale success with slowing and diverting lava flows from Etna. Outline the two ways of doing so.

(Mitigating the event)
(Case study: Living with volcanoes - Italy)

Answer 19

Constructing earth barriers, large concrete blocks dropped into the lava flow.

Dug lava channels, dug to divert flowing lava away from settlement have been used.

Both aim to divert lava, buying time for local communities.

Question 20

What plays the most significant role in mitigating eruption hazards in Italy? How?

(Mitigating the vulnerability)
(Case study: Living with volcanoes - Italy)

Answer 20

Monitoring.

This is because it provides accurate information to the Central Functional Volcanic Risk Centre (CFCRV), which is the basis for primary decision-making, e.g. evacuation orders.

Question 21

What is the CFCRV?

(Case study: Living with volcanoes - Italy)

Answer 21

Central Functional Volcanic Risk Centre.

Question 22

What are the 6 ways that the CFCRV mitigates the vulnerability?

(Mitigating the vulnerability)
(Case study: Living with volcanoes - Italy)

Answer 22

Long-term analysis of past-eruptions and patterns.

International comparison with similar eruptions worldwide.

Constant monitoring.

A well-established alert-level sequence understood by emergency services, all levels of government and local communities.

Closure of airports and air space when threatened by ash in the atmosphere.

Hazard mapping.

Question 23

Outline ‘international comparison with similar eruptions worldwide’ as a way the CFCRV mitigates eruption hazards.

(Mitigating the vulnerability)
(Case study: Living with volcanoes - Italy)

Answer 23

Gives more context to an eruption, and potential eruption impacts on communities, (more interested in high magnitude events).

Question 24

Outline ‘constant monitoring’ as a way the CFCRV mitigates eruption hazards.

(Mitigating the vulnerability)
(Case study: Living with volcanoes - Italy)

Answer 24

• Seismometers.
• Tilt meters.
• Analysis of (toxic) gas emissions.
• Aerial and satellite surveys (infra-red to detect heat).
• Daily/ weekly bulletins issued.

Question 25

Outline ‘hazard mapping’ as a way the CFCRV mitigates eruption hazards.

(Mitigating the vulnerability)
(Case study: Living with volcanoes - Italy)

Answer 25

Identifying the types of houses most at risk and to offer affordable solutions, e.g. adding a pitched roof to an existing flat roof, which will then shed ash fall.

Question 26

Is Italy good at mitigating loss? Why?

(Mitigating the loss)
(Case study: Living with volcanoes - Italy)

Answer 26

Yes, Italy is well practised in dealing with volcanic hazards.

This is because it has to cope with frequent eruptions from Etna.

Question 27

What has been destroyed in Italy (in recent decades)? How does the Italian government cope with this?

(Mitigating the loss)
(Case study: Living with volcanoes - Italy)

Answer 27

Houses, farms, livestock, groves and tourist facilities.

However, the Italian government (AC) has the resources to compensate individuals, and restore infrastructure.

Question 28

What are the greatest tectonic challenges for Italy?

(Mitigating the loss)
(Case study: Living with volcanoes - Italy)

Answer 28

Vesuvius’ challenges are altogether more difficult, given its location close to Naples, and its explosive eruption history.

Question 28

Does Italy experience many casualties? Why?

(Mitigating the loss)
(Case study: Living with volcanoes - Italy)

Answer 28

No, casualties have been minimal due to timely evacuations (based on accurate data and well-trained public services), e.g. fire service, military etc.

Question 29

How many people live in Vesuvius’ ‘red-zone’? What is the ‘red-zone’?

(Mitigating the loss)
(Case study: Living with volcanoes - Italy)

Answer 29

600,000 people.

In the ‘red-zone’ is survival rates would be low if a future eruption was similar to that which destroyed the Roman town of Pompeii.

Question 30

Vesuvius is very closely monitored. Is accuracy high?

(Mitigating the loss)
(Case study: Living with volcanoes - Italy)

Answer 30

Confidence in the possibility of accurately predicting an eruption is low.

Question 31

Are there Vesuvius evacuation plans?

(Mitigating the loss)
(Case study: Living with volcanoes - Italy)

Answer 31

Evacuation plans are in place but widely criticised for being inadequate and poorly understood by the population.

Evacuation is also always a significant economic gamble - false alarms being very expensive mistakes.