World is not ready for its next big disaster, scientist warns - 'Nobody’s watching...'

The Ethiopian volcano that erupted after nearly 12,000 years is a warning sign that the world is not ready to handle such a sudden natural event. While authorities look at active volcanoes, such as Mount Etna in Sicily or Yellowstone in the US, one that has been silent for a long time will cause the next global volcanic disaster, Mike Cassidy wrote in a paper published by The Conversation. He wrote that these "hidden" volcanoes erupt more often than most people realise. The Hayli Gubbi volcano in the Afar region of northern Ethiopia is an example of such an event. It erupted on November 23 after 11,700 years, and for the first time in the Holocene epoch, that is, since the end of the last ice age. It sent an ash cloud measuring 45,000 feet high, which drifted northeastward into northern India.

Also Read: PHOTO: Ethiopian volcano eruption for first time in 12,000 years captured from space

Cassidy gives another example, that of the Mexican volcano El Chichón, which erupted in 1982 after being dormant for centuries. It wasn't a famous volcano, and so wasn't being monitored. Hot rock, gas and ash filled rivers and destroyed buildings, killing over 2,000 people and displacing 20,000. It also triggered a major change in climate as the sulphur formed reflective particles in the upper atmosphere. The northern hemisphere cooled, and the African monsoon shifted southwards, causing extreme drought, Cassidy wrote.

Only a few popular volcanoes are monitored, leaving a major gap

He claims that "fewer than half of active volcanoes are monitored, and scientific research still disproportionately focuses on the well-known few." He added, "There are more published studies on one volcano (Mount Etna) than on all the 160 volcanoes of Indonesia, Philippines and Vanuatu combined." Focusing attention on only a few known volcanic eruptions, such as the recent Iceland events, forms a "dangerous pattern," Cassidy warns. Sudden large volcanic eruptions can trigger famines, disease outbreaks and major social upheaval, but "scientists still lack a global system to anticipate or manage these future risks." He further warns that three-quarters of large eruptions come from volcanoes that have been quiet for at least 100 years. Cassidy pushed for proactive action and preparedness instead of reacting after an eruption.