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Table 1 Selected human and livestock evacuations during volcanic crises

From: Short- and long-term evacuation of people and livestock during a volcanic crisis: lessons from the 1991 eruption of Volcán Hudson, Chile

Eruption

Area Impacted

Details

Reference

1886 Tarawera eruption

Bay of Plenty, New Zealand

An estimated 20,000 livestock were evacuated from areas receiving >10 mm of ashfall.

Keam 1988

1973 Eldfell eruption

Heimaey, Iceland

Within 6 hours of the eruption nearly all of Heimaey's 5,300 residents had been evacuated to the Icelandic mainland. Several hundred sheep were evacuated to the mainland, whilst remaining cattle and poultry were slaughtered

Williams & Moore 1983; Wilson 2009

1976-77 Soufrière eruption

Guadeloupe, West Indies

Approximately 73,500 people were temporarily evacuated, mostly from Plymouth, the island's capital.

McGuire et al. 2009

1980 Mt St Helens eruption

Washington, United States

35 property owners at Spirit Lake evacuated and an exclusion zone established.

The Daily News/The Journal America 1980

1986 Nevado del Ruiz eruption

Tomila, Columbia

15,000 people evacuated in low-lying areas due to lahar hazards (in the aftermath of the destruction of Armero town by lahars following a small eruption in 1985).

Voight 1989

1990-1995 Unzen eruption

Shimabara, Japan

At the peak of the crisis, over 160,000 people used short-term evacuation accommodation, and nearly 5,669 used temporary housing for a period of up to four and half years due to pyroclastic flow hazards.

Shimizu et al. 2007

1991 Pinatubo eruption

Luzon, Philippines

Over 200,000 people were evacuated from around Pinatubo due to pyroclastic flow, heavy ash fall and lahar hazards. Significant subsequent lahar hazards resulted in on-going evacuations by returnees.

Newhall et al. 1997

1995-present Soufriere Hills eruption

Montserrat, West Indies

Approximately two thirds of the ~12,000 island's inhabitants were evacuated between 1995-97. On-going activity has led to their long-term displacement.

Clay et al. 1999; McGuire et al. 2009

1999 Tungurahua eruption

Tungurahua, Ecuador

Enforced evacuation of the entire population (16,000) from Baños due to potential pyroclastic flow, lahar and ashfall hazards.

Tobin & Whiteford 2002; Lane et al. 2003

2002 Nyiragongo eruption

Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo

Lava flows forced the evacuation of ~300,000 people from Goma city and surrounds and left 120,000 homeless.

UNDP 2004

2006 Merapi eruption

Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Over 20,000 people evacuated from western and southern flanks of Merapi due to pyroclastic flow and lahar hazards. Livestock remained on farms within the evacuation zone and tended to by farmers travelling in and out during the day. Many farmers attempted to sell livestock following feed destruction and isolation from their farms.

Wilson et al. 2007

2008-present Chaiten eruption

Northern Patagonia, Chile

Preventative evacuation of ~5,000 people occurred from proximal areas due to potential pyroclastic flow and lahar hazards, particular Chaiten town. Some evacuation occurred in rural areas from heavy ashfall hazards. Over 20,000 cattle were evacuated from areas impacted by heavy ashfalls in the weeks following the eruption.

Lara 2009