Status Updates From Eruption! Volcanoes and the...

The last chapter addresses why people live in such a dangerous place. She gives the reasons why living in the shadow of a volcano has benefits as well as risks. I like the respectful tone and the lack of fearmongering. There is a glossary in back. The author and photographer meet the VDAP team in Washington and joined them in Indonesia. So, she was able to draw from her perspective.

Only half of the ash is present. The local volcanologist points out that rain washes ash away (Indonesia has typhoons and rainy seasons). That is good because the mud clears out and will not spill in other areas if there are new eruptions.

The previous chapter was five months later. They are trying to figure out how much ash fell and they are not sure. Another thing is that people have returned and planted crops in the ash. Those crops are thriving which is why they come back. Even in modern times they take notes in a field notebook. They are worried that not enough ash fell and there will be more to come.

Ch. 8 After this round, the teams go out to figure out how far the ash fell. They find that soccer fields are great places for finding ash layers and they interview people as they move further out until they reach a point in which no ash fall. Collecting data and field work will help them decide what to do next.

Ch. 7 Another intense chapter and the question is, “What happens next?” What I like about the book is the clear admission that scientists are doing their best and they could very well make mistakes. The attitude is matter of fact over people who stay. As a person who does not always go with the “science” (ahem, these past two years), I like that there is no preachiness about people who ignored evacuation warnings.

Ch. 6 The focus is on Mount Merapi in Indonesia. The volcanologist there collaborated with VDAP. Since it is hard to see the volcano due to clouds, they provided satellite image. The volcanologists on site recommended an evacuation. Some did and some did not. People died because they stayed. However, it is clear that this is only Act I. This was not as driven as other chapters.

Ch. 5 VDAP is a US organization which cannot be everywhere. This chapter shows volcanologists from Chile and then Indonesia coming to Mt. St. Helens--their headquarters for training. They design equipment from ordinary materials that can be found anywhere. The situation in Indonesia sounds threatening enough that a VDaP team goes there to help. There is box explaining the structure of the earth and the ring of fire.

Ch. 4 Very exciting and the story is well built. The picture on 27 is terrifying. Besides good storytelling and careful explanations, I really like that the author shares the pros and cons to evacuation. The science of prediction was not certain and the outcome was in doubt. They got it right, knowing that they could have easily got it wrong.

Ch. 3 The VDAP team joins volcanologists in the Philippines. Pinatubo was not on their radar because it erupted 1,000 years ago--before recorded history in that area. The team stayed at Clark Air Force base which gave them assistance in planting sensors. They assessed that it was a pyroclastic volcano like Mt. St. Helens and it could wipe out the base plus all the nearby villages.

Ch. 2 Mt. St. Helens was massive with low loss of life but it spurred volcanologists to start an organization to help a billion people who live in a volcanic path of destruction. A decade later, an unknown volcano, Mt. Pinatubo, spewed ashes so the Philippine government invited the team to assess what might happen. Page 10 has a list of scientific terms. I may line up some Mt. St. Helens with this chapter.

Ch. 1 starts off very strong. It begins with the history of Nevado del Ruiz, an active volcano in Colombia that has long periods of dormancy. Then it unfolds the year in which it woke up and vented and spewed and finally unleashed a mudflow that buried 23,000 people. The way the event is describe is in a storytelling fashion rather than dry scientific fashion. It ends with a good hook to keep reading.