Problems
Although studies at many volcanoes have led to a clear reduction in the risk faced by nearby settlements, eruptions at some of the Decade Volcanoes have demonstrated the difficulties faced by the programme. Eruptions at Mount Unzen which began shortly before it was designated a Decade Volcano were heavily monitored, but despite this, a large pyroclastic flow killed 43 people, including three volcanologists.
Later, a Decade Volcano conference in the city of Pasto, Colombia in 1993 ended in disaster when several of the scientists present mounted an impromptu expedition to the crater of Galeras. An eruption occurred unexpectedly while they were at the summit, which resulted in the deaths of six scientists and three tourists.
Another problem faced by the programme has been civil unrest in the vicinity of several volcanoes. The Civil War in Guatemala affected studies of Volcán Santa María until a ceasefire was called in 1996, while ongoing civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has hampered studies of Nyiragongo volcano. More generally, scarce resources for volcano studies have led to programmes competing for limited funding.
Read more about this topic: Decade Volcanoes
Famous quotes containing the word problems:
“If combat means living in a ditch, females have biological problems staying in a ditch for 30 days because they get infections.... Males are biologically driven to go out and hunt giraffes.”
—Newt Gingrich (b. 1943)
“I have said many times, and it is literally true, that there is absolutely nothing that could keep me in business, if my job were simply business to me. The human problems which I deal with every day—concerning employees as well as customers—are the problems that fascinate me, that seem important to me.”
—Hortense Odlum (1892–?)
“If we fail to meet our problems here, no one else in the world will do so. If we fail, the heart goes out of progressives throughout the world.”
—Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962)