inquiry

SOCIAL SCIENCES RESEARCH WORK. Mount Ruapehu 1. Q. When was the last time mount ruapehu erupted A.2007 25 september 8:20pm

2. Q. When was the last time a lahar was sent down the mountain and what major disaster take place A. 18 march 2007 and William Pike, 22, an Auckland primary school teacher, had his right leg amputated below the knee and also has damage to his left.

ITALY ERUPTION OF MOUNT VERSUVIUS


 * Mount Vesuvius has become familiar to many people from the time that archaeologists began to search for the world that had been buried during the eruption of 79 AD. Yet it is one of the smallest active volcanoes in the world and the only active volcano on the European continent. The name, Vesuvius or Vesbius means "unextinguished"**


 * When a volcano is active, there are usually several calm years between eruptions. During calm times people settled near the mountain. People still choose to settle near Vesuvius as well as around Mt. Etna in Sicily because the volcanic ash provides rich soil suitable for producing excellent wine grapes. The wine produced from the grapes around Vesuvius today is called 'Lacrima Christi'. People feel secure because tranquil times can last up to 2000 years; stories of eruptions become folk tales. People feel safe. However, as long as the volcano is active, they are living atop a live bomb. Today there are over 2 million people living in the vicinity of Mount Vesuvius, a volcano that has erupted more than 50 times since 79 A.D.**


 * For the residents in and around the Bay of Naples, there was a calm of 100 years prior to the activity that prompted the eruption of 79. One can assume that there had been some tremors during this 'calm' period, so it is understandable that the residents were not concerned when the mountain began to rumble. There were frequent earthquake tremors which we took as calmly as if a large truck had passed by causing dishes to rattle. One gets used to the ordinary.**


 * Repairs from the earthquakes of 62 were still being made in Pompeii and Herculaneum seventeen years later when the earth began to shake again. There were many shocks. Dio Cassius (150-235 AD) wrote that several days before the eruptions of 79 there were earthquakes; the ground was groaning and 'giants' were roaming the earth. I imagine that several who had homes elsewhere left but, while the earthquake of 62 might have been fresh in their minds, an eruption had not happened for over 100 years. No one forsaw the disaster that would strike.**


 * However the ordinary sometimes becomes extraordinary. Seneca reported that a large scale earthquake occurred on 5 February 62 (according to Tacitus) or perhaps 63 AD. This earthquake caused significant damage to both Pompeii and Herculaneum with minor damage in Naples where the emperor Nero happened to be performing in the theatre. Seneca wrote that the earthquakes continued for several days, probably referring to aftershocks. He wrote that the earthquakes became gradually less severe but nonetheless caused considerable damage.**

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