Tambora 1815 Krakatoa 1883 Any volcanic concerns ? (Volcano: power lines, houses, earthquake)

[Jeepers Creepers]

Tambora erupted in 1815 near Indonesia, and Krakatoa, 1883 between Sumatra & Java did their share of damage in the 1800s. We had Mt St Helens several years ago too. Anyone concerned in Hawaii about isolation if something happens again?

In 1815, worldwide ash and over the United States caused extreme frosts and heavy snow well into July, ruining everything in the fields. The same happened elsewhere, causing a worldwide famine. This famine helped to spread a new strain of cholera in Asia and a typhus epidemic in southeast Europe and the eastern Mediterranean. Thomas Jefferson wrote a lot about it since he studied botany.

Krakatoa was heard 3,000 miles away! Atmospheric debris would halt air travel and affect weather worldwide. Mother nature has repeatedly shown how little we can do in an aftermath; Katrina and Haiti even recently. We seem not to learn and then are shocked when we get deleted. The volcano in the Canary Islands, Gran Canaria, may well cause an Atlantic tsunami to travel across to the Eastern US Coastline in seven hours, and surprise Miami and New York, as well as other coastal beach sleepers. Does Hawaii have any tsunami concerns?

[Mathguy]

Originally Posted by Jeepers Creepers

Tambora erupted in 1815 near Indonesia, and Krakatoa, 1883 between Sumatra & Java did their share of damage in the 1800s. We had Mt St Helens several years ago too. Anyone concerned in Hawaii about isolation if something happens again?

In 1815, worldwide ash and over the United States caused extreme frosts and heavy snow well into July, ruining everything in the fields. The same happened elsewhere, causing a worldwide famine. This famine helped to spread a new strain of cholera in Asia and a typhus epidemic in southeast Europe and the eastern Mediterranean. Thomas Jefferson wrote a lot about it since he studied botany.

Krakatoa was heard 3,000 miles away! Atmospheric debris would halt air travel and affect weather worldwide. Mother nature has repeatedly shown how little we can do in an aftermath; Katrina and Haiti even recently. We seem not to learn and then are shocked when we get deleted. The volcano in the Canary Islands, Gran Canaria, may well cause an Atlantic tsunami to travel across to the Eastern US Coastline in seven hours, and surprise Miami and New York, as well as other coastal beach sleepers. Does Hawaii have any tsunami concerns?

By it's very nature and location, it's not an unreasonable risk.

Krakatoa made mt. St Helens look like a minor burp. That event caused global cooling aka the year without a summer which had a major impact on why you saw spectacular sunsets for 2 years which showed up in european art at the time.

The one you left out was what happens if a meteorite hits in the pacific (or atlantic) of even modest size like the size of a 20 story building. Waves generated by rockslides and meteorites etc. are nowhere nearly as limited in size as are the ones generated by earthquakes.

A decent sized one in the south atlantic is projected to wash over florida.

[hamellr]

There is nothing you can do if any of this happens, except be prepared.

home | Ready.gov is a good starter resource.


Don't forget about potential Tsunamis from earthquakes along the Pacific Rim.

[UHgrad]

Originally Posted by Jeepers Creepers

Tambora erupted in 1815 near Indonesia, and Krakatoa, 1883 between Sumatra & Java did their share of damage in the 1800s. We had Mt St Helens several years ago too. Anyone concerned in Hawaii about isolation if something happens again?

In 1815, worldwide ash and over the United States caused extreme frosts and heavy snow well into July, ruining everything in the fields. The same happened elsewhere, causing a worldwide famine. This famine helped to spread a new strain of cholera in Asia and a typhus epidemic in southeast Europe and the eastern Mediterranean. Thomas Jefferson wrote a lot about it since he studied botany.

Krakatoa was heard 3,000 miles away! Atmospheric debris would halt air travel and affect weather worldwide. Mother nature has repeatedly shown how little we can do in an aftermath; Katrina and Haiti even recently. We seem not to learn and then are shocked when we get deleted. The volcano in the Canary Islands, Gran Canaria, may well cause an Atlantic tsunami to travel across to the Eastern US Coastline in seven hours, and surprise Miami and New York, as well as other coastal beach sleepers. Does Hawaii have any tsunami concerns?

My understanding is that the volcanos in Hawaii have relatively low viscosity magma and therefore do not trap gas and have explosive eruptions on the scale of a Mount St Helens, Krakatoa, etc... Not to say that it can't happen, but you probably have a better chance of dying in a car accident, drowning, or being hit by lightning in you lifetime than dying from an explosive eruption in Hawaii.

Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park - Frequently Asked Questions (U.S. National Park Service)

Personally, I would be more concerned with a large chunk of the Big Island sliding into the ocean and generating a giant tsunami. But even then, I wouldn't worry about it... what are the odds? Maybe 50/50 that it happens in the next 2000 years? Second hand smoke or a drunk driver will probably kill you first.

ScienceDirect - Marine Geology : Giant landslides, mega-tsunamis, and paleo-sea level in the Hawaiian Islands

[Mathguy]

Good points.

It's like this....if you live in Hawaii your whole life you will see a few tsunamis. One of them may even be "major".

Frankly I think the risk is much less than say living in San Fran where again, using the lifetime argument you will get hit hard at least once.

Where it gets a little scary are in the areas where such events are not 99% certain to happen in your lifetime so there is just no preparedness for it. ie) St. Louis earthquake of 200 years ago

Now if a 1 in a 10million year asteroid hits 200 miles off of the big island, you are all dead within minutes along with a couple million people on the west coast. Some things as people here have noted you just cannot prepare for so <shrug> that's life.

[hotzcatz]

Hawaii's volcano has been continuously erupting since 1983 for this last "eruption". The volcano here is a slow oozing sort of volcano, sometimes it spews up into the air, but most times it oozes along the ground. Folks have time to move their houses out of the way occasionally. If they are small enough houses to move, at least.

Perhaps because our Volcano has a nicer tempered goddess than those other volcanoes? Maybe because people here still give Pele cigarettes and gin?

[Jeepers Creepers]

Originally Posted by Mathguy

Good points.

It's like this....if you live in Hawaii your whole life you will see a few tsunamis. One of them may even be "major".

Frankly I think the risk is much less than say living in San Fran where again, using the lifetime argument you will get hit hard at least once.

Where it gets a little scary are in the areas where such events are not 99% certain to happen in your lifetime so there is just no preparedness for it. ie) St. Louis earthquake of 200 years ago

Now if a 1 in a 10million year asteroid hits 200 miles off of the big island, you are all dead within minutes along with a couple million people on the west coast. Some things as people here have noted you just cannot prepare for so <shrug> that's life.

Many may not realize the Wyoming Yellowstone Park Caldera at 37 x 25 miles wide, has risen almost 3 inches yearly since 2004. It will be 1,000 times more powerful than Mt St Helen's. Midwest devastation. Too, the
New Madrid fault line is having indications . In 1811-12 it reversed the flow of the Mississippi. http://www.scchealth.org/docs/ems/docs/prepare/newmadrid.html.......populations (broken link) now are much denser.

[KauaiHiker]

Wow, it's disaster week on the HI forum.

As mentioned Hawaii's volcanoes are not the explosive kind. We do have earthquakes that cause damage, but not the devastating ones on the Pacific rim (no faults in the middle of the Pacific plate). Tsunamis happen, and we have offshore buoys to warn the scientists and emergency sirens to warn people. Same with hurricanes, they are tracked by satellite and people can prepare for them.

As mentioned, catastrophic landslides are possible, scientists know this from the study of island geology, but none have happened in oral or written history. I'd be interested in knowing more about them, but scientists just don't know that much. Theoretically, they would cause a locally huge tsunami with almost no warning, but again, how it happens is not understood.

So compared to the Pacific rim, where earthquakes are still unpredictable, and volcanoes are destructive, Hawaii is relatively safe. You also mention the ash and global weather cooling from an eruption. Given that Hawaii is in the tropics, I don't think any cooling would be catastrophic. Yes it may be more overcast and cooler, but not freezing and still able to grow crops.

If you want to go all apocalyptic and the boats stop coming, we still have a lot of agricultural land to put back in use (crops, dairy, and ranching). It would be a hard transition, but the islands have plenty of water, still enough solar energy, and a few other options. The hardest would be lack of fossil fuels, but biomass and ethanol from sugar cane should be possible for running busses and some electricity.

[hotzcatz]

Jeez, Jeeps! Looking for the end of the world, or what? It doesn't take a cataclysmic event to shut down Hawaii. Things we really need to worry about are things like a dock worker's strike in California. That is much more likely than most of these geological events and that stops enough shipping to Hawaii that the store shelves are instantly cleared of rice, Spam and toilet paper. (Which is how you can tell when there is a cataclysmic event in progress.)

Oh, the link to the reverse flow of the Mississippi river isn't working.

[Jeepers Creepers]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

Jeez, Jeeps! Looking for the end of the world, or what? It doesn't take a cataclysmic event to shut down Hawaii. Things we really need to worry about are things like a dock worker's strike in California. That is much more likely than most of these geological events and that stops enough shipping to Hawaii that the store shelves are instantly cleared of rice, Spam and toilet paper. (Which is how you can tell when there is a cataclysmic event in progress.)

Oh, the link to the reverse flow of the Mississippi river isn't working.

Sorry..try this one....

Mississippi River ran backward 1812, maps


My concern is that our nation keeps doing moronic things over & over and when a natural event occurs, we are even more perplexed. Ex: Each year it snows in many parts of the nation, but when power lines break due to snow/ice and trees, we make a big story of repairs and power outages. How many decades do we sit and refuse to BURY power lines and make needed BASIC infrastructure efforts??! A very LONG list!! There needs to be some major REAR ENDS kicked , all over this nation. STOP issuing building permits in the FLOOD plain areas !!!! Use media reporters on stories , that ask hard questions, which make LIARS sweat bullets!!