Dangerous Volcanoes That Could Erupt At Any Time

Although volcano eruptions are sensationalized by the media, they're actually more common than you might think. Across the globe, there are between 1,300 and 1,500 active volcanoes, with almost 200 of them in the United States alone. And every continent in the world hosts an active volcano except for Australia. Dozens of volcanoes erupt every year, but using seismographs to predict eruptions has helped decrease the loss of human life associated with volcanic eruptions.

But despite the widespread nature of volcanoes and all of our prediction technology, volcanic eruptions still pose a huge threat to human life. And because the land next to volcanoes is incredibly fertile, many people continue living next to these capricious giants because their livelihoods depend on it.

At the end of the day, it's hard to find a volcano that isn't dangerous, keeping in mind it could erupt at any time. And it's estimated that between 9% and 12% of the world's population lives next to a volcano, as per Environmental Hazards. Because of this, refining evacuation procedures and establishing warning systems will be the only way that people can continue to live side-by-side with these forces of nature.

With a name that translates to Fire Mountain in Indonesian and Javanese, it's no wonder that Mount Merapi is considered to be the most dangerous volcano in Indonesia out of over 120 other volcanoes. A highly active volcano, its most recent eruption was earlier in the year in March as of May 2023.

Mount Merapi is one of 16 volcanoes known as a Decade Volcano, which is a volcano that is studied by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior (IAVCEI) due to its destructive nature and proximity to populated human settlements.

In 2010, numerous eruptions from Mount Merapi led to the deaths of nearly 400 people. Although the 250,000 people that live by Mount Merapi are typically evacuated during major eruptions, everyone isn't always able to evacuate and some people end up in the path of the hot gas and lava. And after the 2010 eruption, over 11,000 people remained displaced. But despite the dangers of Mount Merapi, hundreds of people continue to work as farmers next to the volcano due to the incredibly fertile land around the volcano.

Described by Reuters as "the world's largest active volcano," Mauna Loa erupted for the first time in almost 40 years in November 2022. Although the lava flows from the volcano can devastate homes and farmland on the island of Hawai'i, evacuations are possible because the lava usually takes about a week to travel down the volcano into the residential areas.

Comparatively, the volcanic gasses released by Mauna Loa, which contain a mixture of carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide, pose much more of an immediate threat. During eruptions, Mauna Loa releases a mixture of gasses known as vog, or volcanic smog, that can cause headaches, burning eyes, and sore throats.

Mauna Loa also releases glass particles known as Pele's hair or Pele's tears. Named after the Hawaiian volcano deity Pele, the glass particles aren't too dangerous for people on the ground. However, the glass particles can be dangerous for overhead airplanes. And considering how the Hawai'i island chain is made up of 15 volcanos, there's always going to be a threat of eruption, even if it's not from Mauna Loa. The volcano Kīlauea, also on the island of Hawai'i, was continuously erupting from September 2021 to December 2022.

Mount Etna may not be as dangerous as it used to be, but the largest volcano in Europe has a reputation for damage and devastation. Its volcanic activity has been recorded for over 2,500 years, with Mount Etna's largest eruption in March 1669 that had the longest lava flow ever created in the last 15,000 years, according to The Weather Network. The lava flow was so intense that it accumulated by the wall of Catania until it was pouring over the top of the 60-foot wall, George Poulett Scrope writes in "Volcanoes."

Located on the Italian island of Sicily near the city of Catania, Mount Etna erupts every few years. However, lava flows aren't as much of a threat as they used to be. The last time a town was destroyed by a lava flow was in 1928. However, the volcanic ash clouds still pose a serious threat. During an eruption in March 2017, clouds of hot gas and raining rocks led to numerous injuries among a group of tourists and a news crew. Planes also have trouble flying through volcanic ash clouds, as the clouds obscure the pilot's ability to see and can clog up the engines.

But despite Mount Etna's active nature, over 500,000 people live alongside its rumblings. In 2023, Mount Etna started erupting at the end of May, causing airport shutdowns due to the immense smoke clouds.

When Mount Nyiragongo erupted in 2021, seismologists were caught completely unawares. Located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo near the town of Goma, Mount Nyiragongo erupted without any prior indications on the seismographs near the volcano. And because over 1 million people live around Mount Nyiragongo, the fact that it can suddenly erupt without warning is a cause of great concern. Due to the 2021 eruption, over 360,000 people were displaced, and many were unable to return to their land over a year after the eruption.

The lava flows of Mount Nyiragongo are especially dangerous due to the fact that its lava doesn't contain much silica. As a result, the lava is less viscous and moves quickly. Mount Nyiragongo also releases a great deal of sulfur dioxide. Relief Web writes that during the 2002 eruption, a lava lake was created that has been releasing gasses of sulfur dioxide ever since. The lava lake also means that the magma isn't pressurized out of the volcano, and it's usually the rumblings of pressure that indicate an eruption.

Mount Nyiragongo's deadliest eruption was in 1977, in which over 600 people died. And during the 2002 eruption, over 120,000 people lost their homes.

Roughly 365 miles north of Mount Etna is another Italian volcano that looms over its nearby residents. Mount Vesuvius, located in Naples, Italy, is the only active volcano on the European mainland and is considered to be the most dangerous volcano in all of Europe. Although its most famous eruption was almost 2,000 years ago, Mount Vesuvius has been known to wake from its slumbers to deliver devastation.

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79 is considered to be its deadliest eruption, during which the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in Ancient Rome were completely destroyed. The eruption was so intense that the cities were blanketed by ash, pumice, and mud, freezing the city and its residents in their apocalyptic end. The eruption of Vesuvius is especially well-known because of the account of Pliny the Younger, who witnessed the eruption. Additionally, after the discovery of Pompeii and Herculaneum in 1784, many artists and writers who were inspired by the ruins started incorporating the eruption into numerous artistic works.

As of May 2023, the most recent eruption of Mount Vesuvius was in 1944, which claimed the lives of 26 people as hot ash and volcanic rocks rained from the sky. And although Mount Vesuvius has been quiet for almost 80 years, the devastation on the nearby population from an eruption could be catastrophic, which is why Mount Vesuvius is one of the most watched volcanoes in the world.

Mount Mayon is considered to be the most active volcano in the Philippines and because of its location on the constantly shifting Ring of Fire in the Pacific, it makes it relatively difficult to predict eruptions, making it especially dangerous. National Geographic writes that Mount Mayon has erupted around 60 times in the last 400 years, but the eruptions seem to be getting more frequent, as four eruptions have happened in the 21st century alone.

Up to 250,000 people live by Mount Mayon, and during eruptions there are evacuations of tens of thousands of people. Mount Mayon's biggest and deadliest eruption was in 1814, during which over 1,000 people were killed due to volcanic ash and mudslides, and the town of Cagsawa was completely destroyed.

Despite the dangers of eruption, Mount Mayon continues to attract tourists and sometimes, they get too close to the danger zone. In 2013, five people died while climbing Mount Mayon when ash erupted from the volcano. And thousands of people continue to live by the volcano simply because they cannot afford to move anywhere else. One farmer, Quintin Velardo, told NBC News that "I tell my grandchildren to study hard so they can live elsewhere without a volcano to keep an eye on all your life."