NH
Natural Hazards

volcanic hazard

If a resilient city had a face: it might look like Kagoshima

August 4, 2025
If a resilient city had a face: it might look like Kagoshima
A view of Mt. Sakurajima from the city of Kagoshima (Image credit: Hedieh Soltanpour, June 2025)

As natural hazard scientists, we often emphasise the concept of exposure – how much people, infrastructure, and ecosystems are in harm’s way when close to natural hazard sources (e.g., floodplains, volcanoes, or fault lines). The closer you are, the higher the risk. Therefore, one of the main goals in natural risk assessment is to reduce exposure whenever possible. We advocate for informed plannin ...[Read More]

The bad, the good and the unpredictable: living with volcanoes / part 2

November 11, 2019
The bad, the good and the unpredictable: living with volcanoes / part 2
1812 eruption of La Soufrière, painted by J.M.W. Turner.

Before continuing, if you haven’t read it yet, catch up with the first part of this blog article by clicking on this link. The good Living with volcanoes is not all bad. Volcanoes provide a wealth of natural resources in the form of building materials, hot springs, freshwater and fertile soil. However, there are more hidden aspects, which was the focus of a recent collaboration with an archa ...[Read More]

The bad, the good and the unpredictable: living with volcanoes / part 1

October 28, 2019
The bad, the good and the unpredictable: living with volcanoes / part 1
Rabacca Dry River with La Soufrière volcano in the background. Photo taken by Jazmin Scarlett, 2016.

Introduction Humans have existed and lived alongside volcanoes for as long as we have been on the planet. For some, this has been beneficial and often, in fact, we can see how indigenous knowledge finds a sustainable approach living with them. However, in some cases, societies cannot cope and are overwhelmed with volcanic eruptions.  There are many examples from archaeological studies dealing with ...[Read More]

Stromboli: The Lighthouse of the Mediterranean

September 18, 2019
Stromboli: The Lighthouse of the Mediterranean
Figure 1. Stromboli night activity (Image credit: Katja Bigge. Distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

In the last months two paroxysmal explosive eruptions took place at Stromboli volcano: the first one, totally unexpected, on 3rd July (Video 1) that sadly cost the life of a person and the second and, currently, last one about three weeks ago, on the 28th August (Video 2). Today we try to answer a couple of questions about Stromboli and its eruptions. Are these paroxysmal eruptions common or rare ...[Read More]