With all of the political turmoil going on in the world and the two wars currently raging, one in the Middle East, the other in Eastern Europe, you may not have noticed that we’re experiencing a very alarming increase in volcanic activity over recent months. There has been a total of 38 volcanoes across the planet that have erupted, with dozens of other beginning to shoe signs of minor activity.
And while any sort of volcanic eruption is dangerous to those close by and even far away due to ash carried in the wind, we have more than a view of these beasts we need to keep our eye on as well. Like Mt. Rainier for example. And then there’s the one in Yellowstone that’s always a threat that could devastate the country.
Now scientists are warning folks to look out for Mount Spurr, which could be the next volcano to erupt here in the U.S.
Scientists have warned that a massive volcano in Alaska has a 50-50 chance erupting in the near future. The 11,000-foot-tall Mount Spurr sits 77 miles from Anchorage— the state’s largest city which is home to nearly 300,000 people. Over the last 10 months, it has been experiencing an unusually high amount of small earthquakes.
If Mt. Spurr were to blow its top, the damage wouldn’t be all that bad because Alaska has a very sparse population. But if Mt. Rainier blew its top, were talking catastrophe.
And many experts are saying that it’s only a matter of time before this nightmare scenario actually happens.
Experts say it is only a matter of time until Mount Rainier, one of the most dangerous volcanos in the US, unleashes itself upon the Pacific Northwest. This huge, active stratovolcano looms over nearly 90,000 people living in cities such as Seattle, Tacoma, and Yakima in Washington as well as Portland, Oregon.
Much of the population calling Seattle and Tacoma home don’t really understand the level of danger they are in by living so close to Mt. Rainier. But individuals who have studied the volcano certainly do.
‘Mount Rainier keeps me up at night because it poses such a great threat to the surrounding communities,’ Jess Phoenix, a volcanologist and ambassador for the Union of Concerned Scientists previously said during an appearance on CNN. When this volcano eventually blows, it won’t be lava flows or choking clouds of ash that threaten surrounding cities, but lahars: violent, fast-moving mudflows that can tear across entire communities in a matter of minutes.
As Michael writes for The Economic Collapse, “For a moment, I would like for you to imagine a giant wall of super-heated mud rushing at you at 50 miles per hour. For those that are located in the direct path, there will be little hope of escape. But evacuation drills are regularly held anyway. In fact, on March 21st of last year local communities conducted “the world’s largest lahar evacuation drill”…
Residents in the area will have very little time to evacuate in a situation like this. Lava will flow fast and hard leaving a path of destruction in its wake. No remorse for the lives taken and homes destroyed.
Now let’s turn to Yellowstone’s volcano, which would actually be an even larger disaster. If there were to be a full-blown eruption of this supervolcano, anything that was within a 50-mile radius of it would be obliterated. The whole nation would soon be covered in ash.
We’d have a volcanic winter for a time.
While the blast would kill thousands and send rivers of molten lava pouring up to 40 miles (64km) from the eruption site, this would only be the start of the devastation. Experts predict that every town in a 50-mile (80km) radius would be all but annihilated by the same pyroclastic flows that created the petrified figures of Pompeii. Meanwhile, the United States would be blanketed in a thick layer of choking ash as the world plunges into a volcanic winter which could last for years.
This of course would cause severe decline in global temperatures, making it hard to grow any sort of crops, thus our food supply will take a major hit.
Professor Mather says that some estimates suggest global cooling of around 5°C (9°F) for several years with temperatures potentially falling up to 10°C (18°F) in the first year. A recent pre-print study conducted by the Arctic University of Norway suggests that the maximum cooling a volcanic event could produce is 12°C (21.6°F). If that were the case, countries around the world could experience exceptionally cold winters and could face widespread crop shortages as harvests failed.
Another major volcano you have to keep an eye on is none other than Mount Fuji. It’s quiet there right now, but during its last eruption it created a thick layer of ash that covered central Tokyo.
The 3,776-meter Mt. Fuji last erupted in 1707. At the time, eruptions continued for 16 days, leaving a layer of volcanic ash about 4 cm thick in locations in current-day central Tokyo, according to historical records.
It’s next eruption is going to make that one look like child’s play.
We’ve been experiencing a lot of devastating natural disasters, including earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, and other phenomenon.
Does that mean the world is on its final chapter? I hope not.
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