Lava flow crises in inhabited areas part I: lessons learned and research gaps related to effusive, basaltic eruptions
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(2020) 9:9
REVIEW
Open Access
Lava flow crises in inhabited areas part I: lessons learned and research gaps related to effusive, basaltic eruptions Sophia W. R. Tsang*
and Jan M. Lindsay
Abstract Lava flows have threatened and/or inundated inhabited areas and/or their supporting networks 38 times at 12 volcanoes in the past 70 years. A systematic evaluation of these events has not been undertaken, making it hard to compare eruptions, create lava flow vulnerability models to support impact assessments, and deduce best practices for managing lava flow crises. In this paper, we summarise all 38 basaltic lava flow crises and conduct a gap analysis by evaluating published literature. Eleven data types that could support enhanced physical impact studies and/or research on the societal effects of lava flows were identified. Four of the data types (preparation actions and narrative, eruption narrative, response narrative, and evacuation data) have been well-documented (i.e. documented in at least half the eruptions). Communication approaches and recovery narratives have been included in at least a quarter of the studied eruptions, and their documentation in the literature is increasing with time. Five data types (lava flow attribute data, detailed physical impact data, and information on lava flow hazard modelling, community reactions, and applications of learnings) have only been documented a handful of times each. We suggest that standardisation of data collection and data storage could increase the frequency with which these data types are documented. Finally, we use the case studies to extract lessons about how community understanding of volcanic hazards influences community resilience and how lava flow modelling can inform planning. We also describe lessons relating to evacuation processes, mitigation methods, and recovery. Keywords: Volcanic hazard, Case studies, Lava flow inundation, Effusive eruption, Lava flow damage
Introduction Although infrequent, lava flow inundation of inhabited areas can have devastating consequences for affected communities. Lava flows bury assets and land in addition to bulldozing or igniting structures (e.g. Blong 1984; Oppenheimer 2011; Harris 2015; Kilburn 2015). While the resulting damage is frequently total, recent research (Tsang 2019a, 2019b) and recent eruptions suggest that lava flows can also cause progressive, complex impacts. For example some lava flow damage may depend on the properties of the flow; in the case of buried infrastructure, such as electric cables or water pipes, the * Correspondence: [email protected] School of Environment, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
impact depends on the thickness and duration of the overriding flow as thermal impacts become progressively worse the longer the lava flow is active (Tsang 2019a, 2019b). Anecdotes from after the 1973 Vestmannaeyjar Volcanic Field eruption on Heimaey Island (Iceland) suggest that some structures with which lava flows come into contact can still be used after the eruption (Williams and M
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