Cities with nearby volcanoes

[HurricaneBill]

All around the world, there are cities that happen to be located near volcanoes. Some of the volcanoes are active. Some are quiescent. Some pose little threat. Others are ticking time bombs. Some have caused disasters in the past. Some may cause disasters in the future.

Here are some of cities and their nearby volcanoes:

City: Puebla
Volcano: Popocatepetl (Mexico's most famous volcano)


Popocatepetl is also near Mexico City. (Popo's on the right)

[HurricaneBill]

Volcano: Mount Fuji (Often considered one of the most beautiful volcanoes)

Several cities are near Fuji.

Tokyo


Yokohama


Shizuoka

[HurricaneBill]

Volcano: Sakurajima
City: Kagoshima

Sakurajima has frequent eruptions and is often referred to as the Oriental Twin of Mt. Vesuvius.

[Nightwatch]

Naples with Vesuvius in the background

[HurricaneBill]

Vesuvius is a ticking time bomb. The fact that Vesuvius has been quiescent since 1944 is cause for concern. Usually, the longer Vesuvius sleeps, the bigger the eruption. Evacuating Naples and the surrounding areas will be a nightmare.

At the present time, Vesuvius is showing no signs that an eruption will occur.

Vesuvius does have active fumaroles in its crater.

[HurricaneBill]

Another ticking time bomb:

Mt. Rainier looming over Seattle.



Fortunately, Rainier is currently showing no signs of an impending eruption.

[Nightwatch]

Whaaa Panic!

Swarm of quakes around Rainier

Seems pretty normal tho

[HurricaneBill]

Some cities know all too well the impacts of volcanic eruptions.

Pompeii (destroyed by Vesuvius in 79 A.D.)

[HurricaneBill]

Rabaul is a township situated on the edge of a flooded caldera with two volcanoes, Tavurvur and Vulcan, on opposite sides of the harbor. Rabaul was once the capital of East New Britain province in Papua New Guinea.

A VEI4 eruption occurred in 1937 when both volcanoes erupted. 507 people were killed, but the city rebuilt.

In 1994, another VEI4 eruption occurred when Tavurvur and Vulcan both erupted without warning. Thanks to well-planned evacuation procedures, only 5 people were killed. However, 80% of the buildings in Rabaul were destroyed by heavy ashfall. This resulted in the provincial capital being relocated to the city of Kokopo. As a result, Rabaul's population dropped from over 17,000 in 1990 to less than 3,900 today. Rebuilding has been slow in Rabaul.

Although Vulcan has been quiet since 1994, Tavurvur has had frequent eruptions. Another VEI4 eruption occurred in 2006. Tavurvur also erupted in 2011.

In this photo, Tavurvur is on the left and Vulcan is on the right. Rabaul is in the middle of the picture.

[HurricaneBill]

Plymouth was formerly the capital of Montserrat. It is now abandoned and mostly destroyed due to ash and pyroclastic flows from nearby Soufriere Hills.

Long thought to be extinct, Soufriere Hills started erupting in 1995. Due to frequent pyroclastic flows, including one that killed 19 people in 1997, the city of Plymouth was abandoned and an exclusion zone was imposed on the southern half of the island. Many residents of Monserrat fled primarily to the UK and very few have returned. Montserrat's population has plunged from around 13,000 in 1994 to around 5,900 today.

Although Plymouth is still Montserrat's official capital, an interim capitol has been set up in the village of Brades. A new capital is being built on the northern end of the island.