The largest volcanic eruptions in the world. Largest volcanic eruption

Do you know how many active volcanoes are there on our planet? About six hundred. This is relatively small, considering that more than a thousand no longer threaten humanity, since they have cooled down. More than ten thousand volcanoes are hidden under the surface of sea and ocean waters. Yet the danger of a volcanic eruption exists in many countries. There are more than a hundred of them near Indonesia, in the west of America there are about ten, there are "rumbling mountains" in Japan, Kamchatka and the Kuriles. Today we will talk about the strongest volcanic eruptions that have claimed many lives and left a noticeable imprint on the history of civilization. Let's get acquainted with the most dangerous representatives of these formidable mountains. We will find out whether it is worth fearing the Yellowstone volcano today, which worries scientists around the world. Let's start with him.

Supervolcano Yellowstone

Today, there are twenty supervolcanoes by volcanologists, compared to which the remaining 580 are nothing. They are located in Japan, New Zealand, California, New Mexico and elsewhere. But the most dangerous of the entire group is the Yellowstone volcano. Today, this monster causes concern for all scientists, as it is already ready to spew tons of lava to the surface of the earth.

Dimensions of Yellowstone where it is located

This giant is located in the west of America, more precisely, in the northwest, in the region of Wyoming. First discovered a dangerous mountain in 1960, it was noticed by a satellite. The dimensions of the whopper are about 72 x 55 kilometers, which is almost a third of the 900,000 hectares of the entire Yellowstone National Park, more precisely, its park area.

The Yellowstone volcano today stores in its bowels a huge amount of hot magma, the temperature of which reaches 1000 degrees. It is to her that tourists owe a lot of hot springs. The fire bubble is located at a depth of almost 8 kilometers.

Yellowstone eruptions

Many millennia ago, this giant already poured the earth with an abundant stream of lava, and sprinkled it on top with tons of ash. The largest volcanic eruption, it was also the first, according to scientists, occurred about two million years ago. It is assumed that then Yellowstone threw out more than 2.5 thousand cubic kilometers of rock, which flew up 50 kilometers from the surface of the earth. This is power!

About 1.2 million years ago, the formidable volcano repeated the eruption. It was not as strong as the first, and the emissions were ten times less.

The last, third disturbance took place about 640 years ago. The largest volcanic eruption at that time cannot be called, but it was during it that the walls of the crater collapsed, and today we can observe the caldera that appeared during that period.

Should we fear the eruption of Yellowstone any time soon?

With the beginning of the second millennium, scientists began to notice the ongoing changes in the behavior of the Yellowstone volcano. What alerted them?

1. From 2007 to 2013, that is, in six years, the earth covering the caldera rose by two meters. Compared with the last twenty years before, the rise was only a few centimeters.
2. New hot geysers have appeared.
3. The severity and frequency of earthquakes in the caldera region have increased since 2000.
4. Underground gases began to find a way out directly from the ground.
5. The water temperature in the nearest reservoirs has risen by several degrees at once.

The inhabitants of the North American continent were alarmed by this news. Scientists around the world agreed: there will be an eruption. When? Most likely already in this century.

Why is the eruption dangerous?

The largest eruption of the Yellowstone volcano is expected in our time. Scientists assume that its strength will be no less than during previous unrest. If we compare the power of the explosion, then it can be equated to the release of more than a thousand atomic bombs to the ground. Such an explosion is capable of destroying everything within a radius of 150-160 kilometers, and another 1600 kilometers around it will fall into the "dead zone".

In addition, the eruption of Yellowstone can contribute to the beginning of the eruptions of other volcanoes, and this will entail the appearance of huge tsunamis. Rumor has it that the United States government is preparing with might and main for this event: strong shelters are being made, an evacuation plan to other continents is being created.

It is difficult to say if this will be the largest volcanic eruption in history, and yet it is dangerous, and not only for the states, but for the whole world. If the height of the emission is 50 kilometers, then in two days a dangerous cloud of smoke will begin to actively spread. Residents of Australia and India will be the first to enter the disaster zone. For a period of more than two years, you will have to get used to the cold, since the sun's rays will not be able to break through the thickness of ash, and winter will come out of schedule. The temperature will drop to -25 degrees, and in some places to -50. In conditions of cold, lack of normal air, hunger, only the strongest can survive.

Etna

It is an active stratovolcano, one of the most powerful in the world and the largest in Italy. Interested in the coordinates of Mount Etna? It is located in Sicily (right coast), near Catania and Messina. The geographical coordinates of Mount Etna are 37 ° 45 '18 "north latitude, 14 ° 59' 43" east longitude.

Now the height of Etna is 3429 meters, but it changes from eruption to eruption. This volcano is the highest point in Europe, outside the Alps, Caucasus Mountains and Pyrenees. This giant has a rival - the well-known Vesuvius, who at one time destroyed an entire civilization. But Etna is more than 2 times more.

Etna is a harsh volcano. It has 200 to 400 craters on its sides. Once every three months, hot lava flows out of one of them, and about once every 150 years, there are really serious eruptions that consistently destroy the villages. However, local residents are not upset or frightened by this fact, they are actively populating the slopes of the dangerous mountain.

List of eruptions: chronology of Etna activity

About six thousand years ago, Etna was pretty naughty. During the eruption, a huge piece of its eastern part was broken off and thrown into the sea. In 2006, volcanologists published the news that this debris, falling into the water, created a huge tsunami.

The first eruption of this giant took place, according to scientists, in 1226 BC.

In 44 BC, there was a violent eruption. As far as Egypt, a cloud of ash extended, due to which there was no further harvest.

122 year - a city called Catania was almost wiped off the face of the earth.

In 1669, the volcano, with its eruption, greatly altered the outlines of the coast. Ursino Castle stood near the water, but after the eruption it turned out to be 2.5 km from the coast. Lava penetrated the walls of Catania, absorbing the housing of 27 thousand people.

In 1928, the old town of Maskali was destroyed by an eruption. This event was remembered by believers, they believe that a real miracle happened. The fact is that before the religious procession, the flow of red-hot lava stopped. A chapel was later built near it. Lava froze near the building in 1980.

In the period from 1991 to there was one of the most terrible eruptions, which practically destroyed the city of Zafferan.

The last major volcanic eruptions occurred in 2007, 2008, 2011 and 2015. But these were not the most serious cataclysms. Locals call the mountain good, as the lava quietly flows down the sides, and does not spill up into terrible fountains.

Should you be afraid of Etna?

Due to the fact that the eastern part of the volcano broke off, Etna is now erupting effusively, that is, without an explosion, lava flows down its sides in slow streams.

Scientists today are concerned that the behavior of the whopper is changing, and soon it will erupt explosively, that is, with an explosion. Thousands of people could suffer in such an eruption.

Guarapuava-Tamarana-Sarusas

The name of this volcano is difficult to pronounce even for the most professional announcer! But its name is not so scary as the way it erupted about 132 million years ago.

The nature of its eruption is explosive, such specimens accumulate lava for many millennia, and then pour it onto the ground in incredible quantities. So it happened with this giant, which splashed out more than 8 thousand cubic kilometers of red-hot slurry.

This monster is located in the Trap province of Parana-Etendeka.

We offer you to familiarize yourself with the largest volcanic eruptions in history.

Sakurajima

This volcano is located in Japan and is considered one of the most dangerous in the world. Since 1955, this giant has been in constant activity, which frightens local residents, and not only them.

The last eruption was in 2009, but not very serious when compared to what happened in 1924.

The volcano began to signal its eruption with strong tremors. Most of the city's residents managed to leave the danger zone.

After this eruption, "Sakura Island" cannot be called an island. Such an amount of lava erupted from the throat of this giant that an isthmus was formed, which connected the island with another - Kyushu.

After this eruption, Sakurajima quietly poured out lava for about a year, which made the bottom of the bay much higher.

Vesuvius

Located in Napoli and is the only "live" volcano in continental Europe.

Its strongest eruption occurs in 79 years. In August, 24 woke up from hibernation and destroyed the cities of Ancient Rome: Herculaneum, Pompeii and Stabia.

The last major volcanic eruption occurred in 1944.

The height of this formidable giant is 1281 meters.

Colima

Located in Mexico. This is one of the most dangerous representatives of its kind. It has erupted over forty times since 1576.

The last strong eruption was recorded in 2005, on June 8. The government urgently evacuated residents of nearby villages, as a huge ash cloud rose above them - more than five kilometers in height. This threatened the lives of people.

The highest point of this formidable monster is 4625 meters. Today the volcano is dangerous not only for the inhabitants of Mexico.

Galeras

Located in Colombia. The height of this giant reaches 4276 meters. Over the past seven thousand years, there have been about six of the largest eruptions.

In 1993, one of the eruptions began. Unfortunately, research work was carried out on the territory of the volcano, and six geologists never returned home.

In 2006, the volcano again threatened to flood the surroundings with lava, so people were evacuated from local settlements.

Mauna loa

This is the formidable guardian of the Hawaiian Islands. It is considered the largest volcano on the entire Earth. The volume of this giant, taking into account the underwater part, is about 80 thousand cubic kilometers.

The last time a strong eruption was noted in 1950. And the most recent, but not strong, happened in 1984.

Mauna Loa is included in the list of the most powerful, dangerous and largest volcanoes in the world.

Teide

This is a dormant monster, the awakening of which all the inhabitants of Spain fear. The last time the eruption occurred in 1909, today the formidable mountain shows no activity.

If this volcano decides to wake up, and it has been resting for more than a hundred years, then it will not be the most pleasant time for the inhabitants of the island of Tenerife, as well as for the whole of Spain.

We have named far from all the latest major volcanic eruptions. As mentioned at the beginning of the article, there are about six hundred active. People living in zones of active volcanoes are in fear every day, because an eruption is a terrible natural disaster that takes thousands of lives.

On June 6-8, 1912, the volcano Novarupta, USA, erupted - one of the largest eruptions of the 20th century. Kodiak Island, located nearby, was covered with a 30-centimeter layer of ash, and the acid rain caused by volcanic emissions into the atmosphere caused people to split their clothes into threads.

On this day, we decided to remember 5 more of the most destructive volcanic eruptions in history.

Volcano Novarupta, USA

1. The largest eruption in the last 4000 years is the eruption of the Tambora volcano, which is located in Indonesia on the island of Sumbawa. The explosion of this volcano occurred on April 5, 1815, although it began to give first signs back in 1812, when the first plumes of smoke appeared over it. The eruption lasted for 10 days. 180 cubic meters were emitted into the atmosphere. km. pyroclastics and gases, tons of sand and volcanic dust covered the area within a radius of one hundred kilometers. After the volcanic eruption, due to the huge amount of pollution, there was night for three days within a radius of 500 km. From him. According to eyewitnesses, nothing could be seen beyond one's own hand. The death toll was over 70,000. The entire population of the island of Sumbawa was destroyed, and residents of nearby islands were also affected. The following year after the eruption was very difficult for the inhabitants of this area, it was nicknamed "the year without summer." The unusually low temperatures caused crop failure and hunger. Due to such a large eruption, the climate of the entire planet was changed; in many countries, snow lasted most of the summer this year.

Tambora volcano, Indonesia

2. The most powerful volcanic eruption occurred in 1883 on the island of Krakatoa, which is between Java and Sumatra, on which the eponymous volcano is located. The height of the column of smoke during the eruption was 11 kilometers. After that, the volcano calmed down, but not for long. In August, the culminating phase of the eruption began. Dust, gas, debris rose to a height of 70 km, and fell on an area of ​​more than 1 million square meters. km. The blast roars exceeded 180 decibels, which is significantly more than a person's pain threshold. An air wave rose, which circled the planet several times, tearing roofs off houses. But this is not all the consequences of the eruption of Krakatoa. The tsunami eruption destroyed 300 cities and towns, killed more than 30,000 people, and left many more homeless. Six months later, the volcano finally calmed down.

Volcano Krakatoa

3. In May 1902, one of the worst catastrophes of the twentieth century broke out. The inhabitants of the city of Saint-Pierre, located in Martinique, considered the Mont Pele volcano weak. No one paid attention to the tremors and hum, despite the fact that they lived only 8 kilometers from the mountain. At about 8 am on May 8, its eruption began. Volcanic gases and lava flows rushed towards the city, causing fires. The city of Saint-Pierre was destroyed and more than 30,000 people died. Of all the inhabitants, only the criminal who was in the underground prison survived.
Now this city has been restored, and at the foot of the volcano, in memory of the terrible event, a museum of volcanology was built.

Volcano Mont Pele

4. For five centuries, the volcano Ruiz, which is located in Colombia, did not give life, and people considered it asleep. But, unexpectedly, on November 13, 1985, a major eruption began. Due to the outflowing lava flows, the temperature increased and the ice that covered the volcano melted. The streams reached the city of Armero and practically destroyed it. According to official data, about 23 thousand people died or went missing, tens of thousands of people lost their homes. Coffee plantations have suffered greatly, and Colombia's economy has suffered tremendous damage this year.

Volcano Ruiz, Colombia Unzen volcano

5. Japanese volcano Unzen, located in the southwest of Kyushu island, closes the five most destructive eruptions. The activity of this volcano manifested itself back in 1791, and on February 10, 1792, the first eruption took place. This was followed by a series of earthquakes that caused significant destruction in the nearby city of Shimabara. A kind of dome of solidified lava formed over the city, and on May 21 it split due to another earthquake. A stone avalanche hit the city and into the sea, which caused a tsunami, the waves of which reached 23 meters. More than 5,000 people died when pieces of rocks fell, and more than 10,000 people were killed by the elements.

The most recent mention of active volcanic activity on the planet occurred on August 16 this year, when a series of mini-earthquakes occurred in the vicinity of the Bardarbunga volcano in Iceland. On August 28, the eruption itself began, marked by the outpouring of lava from a long crack on the Kholuhrain lava plateau. It was not as dramatic as what happened in 2010, when the Eyjafjallajökull volcano emerged from a long hibernation, whose ash prevented flights for two weeks. This time, the pilot of the plane flying by, on the contrary, made a small detour and approached the ash clouds so that the passengers could better see this grandiose phenomenon. The Icelandic Meteorological Office, in turn, only raised the level of threat to air travel to red, without fanning it out of unnecessary hype. According to James White, a volcanologist at the University of Otago in New Zealand, there is little that society can do about large volcanic eruptions, so their rarity is encouraging.

10. Mount St. Helena, Washington, USA - 57 victims

On May 18, 1980, a 5.1 magnitude earthquake caused a series of explosions on Mount St. Helena. The process culminated in a violent eruption that released a record wave of rock debris, killing 57 people. In total, the volcanic eruption caused $ 1 billion in damage to the country, destroying roads, forests, bridges, houses and recreation areas, not to mention logging facilities and rural land. "Indirect human losses" as a result of this eruption made it one of the worst cataclysms in the world.

9. Nyiragongo, Democratic Republic of the Congo - 70 victims


Located in the Virunga Mountains along the Great Rift Valley, Nyiragongo volcano has erupted at least 34 times since 1882. This active stratovolcano reaches an altitude of 1,100 meters and has a two-kilometer crater filled with a real lava lake. In January 1977, Nyiragongo began to erupt again, lava flowing down its slopes at a speed of 100 kilometers per hour, as a result of which 70 people died. The next eruption took place in 2002, when lava flows headed for the city of Goma and the shores of Lake Kivu, fortunately no one was hurt this time. Scientists believe that the increased level of volcanism in the area has caused the oversaturation of Lake Kivu with carbon dioxide to a dangerous level.

8. Pinatubo, Philippines - 800 victims


Located in the Qabusilan Mountains on Luzon Island, Mount Pinatubo has been dormant for over 450 years. In June 1991, when they forgot about the danger of this volcano, and its slopes were covered with dense vegetation, he suddenly woke up. Fortunately, timely monitoring and forecasts made it possible to safely evacuate most of the population, however, as a result of this eruption, 800 people died. It was so strong that its effects were felt all over the world. A layer of sulfuric acid vapor settled in the planet's atmosphere for some time, which caused a decrease in world temperature by 12 degrees Celsius in 1991-1993.

7.Kelud, East Java, Indonesia - 5,000 victims


Located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, Kelud Volcano has erupted over 30 times since 1000 AD. One of its deadliest eruptions occurred in 1919. More than 5,000 people died from hot and fast-moving mudflows. The volcano later erupted in 1951, 1966 and 1990, causing a total of 250 deaths. In 2007, 30,000 people were evacuated after his awakening, and two weeks later there was a huge explosion that destroyed the top of the mountain. Dust, ash and debris covered the surrounding villages. The last eruption of this volcano occurred on February 13, 2014, when 76,000 people were evacuated. The volcanic ash ejection covered an area of ​​500 square kilometers.

6. Lucky volcanic system, Iceland - 9000 victims


Iceland is a sparsely populated country located between the North Atlantic and the Arctic Circle, famous for its waterfalls, fjords, volcanoes and glaciers. Iceland got its nickname "Land of Fire and Ice" for the reason that there is a whole system of 30 active volcanoes here. The reason for this is the location of the island on the border of the collision of two tectonic plates. We all remember the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in 2010, when thousands of tons of ash and debris eclipsed the sky over the island and for several weeks air travel over Europe was banned. However, this eruption fades in the face of the 1784 eruption in the Lucky volcanic system. It lasted eight months, spewing more than 14.7 cubic kilometers of lava and releasing into the atmosphere an unthinkable amount of harmful gases, including carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen chloride and fluoride. A cloud of toxins spilled in acid rain, poisoning livestock and soil, and killed 9,000 people.

5. Mount Unzen, Japan - from 12,000 to 15,000 victims


Located near the city of Shimabara, in Nagasaki Prefecture, on the Japanese island of Kyushu, Mount Unzen is part of a group of intersecting stratovolcanoes. In 1792, Mount Unzen began to erupt. A huge explosion triggered an earthquake that caused the eastern part of the volcano's dome to fracture, resulting in a huge tsunami. On that memorable day, from 12 to 15 thousand people died. This eruption is considered the deadliest in the history of Japan. Mount Unzen subsequently erupted again in 1990, 1991 and 1995. In 1991, 43 people died, including three volcanologists.

4. Vesuvius, Italy - from 16,000 to 25,000 victims


Located 9 kilometers east of Naples, Mount Vesuvius is one of the most infamous volcanoes in the world. Its notoriety was caused by the eruption in 79 AD, which destroyed the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The lava flow then reached 20 miles in length and consisted of molten rock, pumice, stones and ash. The amount of thermal energy released during this eruption exceeded 100,000 times the energy released during the bombing of Hiroshima. According to some estimates, the death toll ranges from 16,000 to 25,000. The last eruption of Vesuvius occurred in 1944. Today, Mount Vesuvius is considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world, since more than 3 million people live in its vicinity.

3. Nevado del Ruiz, Colombia - 25,000 victims


Nevado del Ruiz, also known as La Messa de Jurveo, is a stratovolcano located in Colombia. It is located 128 kilometers west of Bogota. It differs from an ordinary volcano in that it consists of many alternating layers of lava, hardened volcanic ash and pyroclastic rocks. Nevado del Ruiz is widely known for its deadly mudflows that can bury entire cities underneath. This volcano erupted three times: in 1595, 635 people died as a result of falling into a hot mudflow, in 1845 1,000 people died, and in 1985, which turned out to be the deadliest, more than 25,000 people died. Such a large number of victims is explained by the fact that the village of Armero appeared in the path of the flow of lava, rushing at a speed of 65 kilometers, per hour.

2. Sang, West Indies - 30,000 victims

The Peli volcano is located at the northern tip of Martinique. Until recently, it was considered a dormant volcano. However, a series of eruptions that began on April 25, 1902 and ended with an explosion on May 8, proved otherwise. This eruption was called the worst volcanic disaster of the 20th century. Pyroclastic flows destroyed the city of Saint-Pierre - the largest on the island. More than 30,000 people died as a result of this disaster. According to some reports, only two of the residents of the city survived: one of them was a prisoner, whose cell turned out to be poorly ventilated, and the second turned out to be a young girl who disappeared in a small boat in a small cave near the coast. She was later discovered drifting in the ocean, two miles from Martinique.

1. Tambora, Indonesia - 92,000 victims


The eruption of the Tambora volcano began on April 10, 1816, killing 92,000 people. The volume of lava, at more than 38 cubic miles, is considered the largest in the history of all eruptions. Before the eruption began, Mount Tambora reached 4 kilometers in height, after which its height decreased to 2.7 kilometers. This volcano is considered not only the deadliest of all, but also had the most powerful impact on the Earth's climate. As a result of the eruption, the planet was hidden from the rays of the Sun for a whole year. The eruption was so significant that it caused a number of weather anomalies around the world: it snowed in New England in June, crop failures were everywhere, and cattle died as a result of hunger throughout the Northern Hemisphere. This phenomenon has become widely known as "volcanic winter".

In the new millennium, the most terrible reports of disasters come from countries with high tectonic activity. Earthquakes cause huge destruction, provoke tsunamis that wash away entire cities:

• the tsunami in Japan in 2011 (16,000 casualties);
• earthquake in Nepal in 2015 (8,000 casualties);
• earthquake in Haiti in 2010 (100-500 thousand deaths);
• tsunami in 2004 in the Indian Ocean (according to confirmed data 184 thousand in 4 countries).

Volcanoes in the new century bring only minor inconveniences. Emissions of volcanic ash interrupt air traffic, cause discomfort associated with evacuation and an unpleasant smell of sulfur.

But it was (and will be) not always. In the past, the largest eruptions have caused much more serious consequences. Scientists believe that the longer a volcano sleeps, the stronger its next eruption will be. Today in the world there are 1,500 volcanoes up to 100 thousand years old. In the immediate vicinity of the fire-breathing mountains, 500 million people live. Each of them lives on a powder keg, because people have not learned how to accurately predict the time and place of a probable disaster.

The most terrible eruptions are associated not only with magma escaping from the bowels in the form of lava, but also with explosions, fragments of scattering rock, changes in the relief; smoke and ash covering vast areas, carrying chemical compounds that are deadly to humans.

Consider 10 of the deadliest phenomena of the past, which led to a volcanic eruption.

Kelud (about 5,000 dead)

The active Indonesian volcano is located 90 kilometers from the second most populous city in the country - Surabaya, on the island of Java. The strongest of the officially recorded eruptions of Kelud is considered to be the disaster that killed more than 5,000 people in 1919. The peculiarity of the volcano is the lake located inside the crater. On May 19 of this year, boiling under the influence of magma, the reservoir brought down about 38 million cubic meters of water on the inhabitants of nearby villages. On the way, silt, mud, stones were mixed with water. The population suffered more from the mudflow than from the explosion and lava.

After the incident of 1919, the authorities took measures to reduce the area of ​​the lake. The last eruption of the volcano is dated 2014. As a result, 2 people died.

Santa Maria (5,000 - 6,000 casualties)

Located in the central part of the American continent (in Guatemala), the volcano slept until the first eruption in the twentieth century for about 500 years. Having lulled the vigilance of the locals, the earthquake, which began in the fall of 1902, was not given much importance. An explosion of the most terrible force, which sounded on October 24, destroyed one of the mountain slopes. In three days, 5,000 residents were killed by 5.5 thousand cubic meters of magma and exploding rocks. The plume of smoke and ash from the smoking mountain spread over 4,000 km to American San Francisco. Another 1000 residents were affected by epidemics provoked by the eruption.

Lucky (over 9,000 dead)

The most powerful known eruption of Icelandic volcanoes lasted 8 months. In July 1783, Lucky woke up completely unhappy. Lava from its vents flooded about 600 square kilometers of the island's territory. But the most dangerous consequences were the puffs of poisonous smoke, which could be observed even in China. Fluoride and sulfur dioxide killed all crops and most of the livestock on the island. Slow death from hunger and toxic gas overtook more than 9,000 (20% of the population) of the Icelandic population.

Other parts of the planet were also affected. The drop in air temperature in the Northern Hemisphere as a result of the catastrophe led to crop failure throughout the United States, Canada and parts of Eurasia.

Vesuvius (6,000 - 25,000 victims)

One of the most famous natural disasters happened in 79 AD. Vesuvius, according to various sources, killed from 6 to 25 thousand ancient Romans. For a long time, this catastrophe was considered a fiction and a hoax of Pliny the Younger. But in 1763, archaeological excavations finally convinced the world of the existence and death, under a layer of ash, of the ancient city of Pompeii. The smokescreen reached Egypt and Syria. It is reliably known that Vesuvius destroyed as many as three cities (also Stabia and Herculaneum).

The Russian artist Karl Bryullov, who was present at the excavations, was so impressed by the history of Pompeii that he dedicated the most famous of the paintings of Russian painting to the city. Vesuvius is still a great danger, it is not for nothing that our site has an article about the planet itself, in which special attention is paid to Vesuvius.

Unzen (15,000 dead)

No disaster rating is complete without the Land of the Rising Sun. The most powerful eruption in Japanese history took place in 1792. The Unzen volcano (in fact, it is a complex of four volcanic domes), located on the Shimabara Peninsula, is to blame for the death of 15 thousand inhabitants; it played the role of an intermediary. Erupting for several months, Unzen, gradually, as a result of tremors, displaced one of the flanks of the Mayu-Yama dome. Caused by the movement of the rock, a landslide buried 5 thousand inhabitants of the island of Kyushu. Large sacrifices were brought, provoked by Unzen, twenty-meter tsunami waves (10,000 dead).

Nevado del Ruiz (23,000 - 26,000 casualties)

Located in the Colombian Andes, the Ruiz stratovolcano is notorious for the lahars (a stream of mud from volcanic ash, rock and water) caused by its activity. The biggest convergence occurred in 1985 and is better known as the "Tragedy of Armero". Why did people remain in such a dangerous proximity to the volcano, after all, until the 85th year, lahars were the scourge of the region?

It's all about the fertile soils, generously fertilized with volcanic ash. The prerequisites for a future catastrophe became noticeable a year before the incident. A small mudflow dammed the local river, and magma came to the surface, but the evacuation never took place.

When a pillar of smoke rose from the crater on November 13, local authorities advised not to panic. But a small eruption led to the melting of the glacier. Three mud streams, the largest of which reached thirty meters wide, destroyed the city in a matter of hours (23 thousand dead and 3 thousand missing).

Montagne Pele (30,000-40,000 dead)

1902 brought another deadliest eruption in our ranking. The resort island of Martinique was hit by the awakened Mont Pele stratovolcano. And again the carelessness of the authorities played a decisive role. Explosions in the crater that poured stones on the heads of the residents of Saint-Pierre; The volcanic mud and lava that destroyed the sugar factory on May 2 did not convince the local governor of the gravity of the situation. He personally persuaded the workers who had escaped from the city to return.

And on May 8, there was an explosion. One of the schooners that entered the harbor decided in time to leave the port of Saint-Pierre. It was the captain of this ship ("Roddam") who informed the authorities about the tragedy. A powerful pyroclastic flow covered the city with great speed, and when it reached the water, it raised a wave that washed away most of the ships in the harbor. In 3 minutes, 28,000 residents either burned to death or died from gas poisoning. Many died later from their burns and wounds.

The local prison gave an amazing salvation. The criminal imprisoned in the dungeon passed both the flow of lava and the poisonous smoke.

Krakatoa (36,000 casualties)

The most famous volcanic eruptions are led by Krakatoa, which unleashed all its fury in 1883. The destructive power of the Indonesian volcano impressed contemporaries. And today the catastrophe of the late 19th century is included in all encyclopedias and reference books.

An explosion with a capacity of 200 megatons in TNT equivalent (10 thousand times more powerful than during the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima) destroyed the 800-meter mountain and the island on which it was located. The blast wave circled the globe more than 7 times. The sound from Krakatoa (possibly the loudest on the planet) was heard over 4000 km from the eruption site, in Australia and Sri Lanka.

86% of the dead (about 30 thousand people) suffered from a powerful tsunami caused by a raging fiery mountain. The rest were littered with debris from Krakatoa and volcanic debris. The eruption caused global climate change on the planet. The average annual temperature, due to the negative impact of the emitted smoke and ash, fell by more than 1 degree Celsius and recovered to its previous level only after 5 years. Large casualties were avoided due to the low density of the region.

Since 1950, a new volcano has erupted on the site of the old Krakatoa.

Tambora (50,000 - 92,000 dead)

The diameter of the crater of another Indonesian volcano (who lives on a powder keg) reaches 7,000 meters. This supervolcano (semi-official term for a volcano capable of causing global climate change) is one of 20 recognized by scientists as such.

The eruption began according to the usual scenario in such cases - with an explosion. But then an extraordinary event happened: the resulting huge fiery whirlwind swept away everything in its path. The elements of fire and wind destroyed a village 40 km from the volcano to the ground.

Like Krakatoa, Tambora destroyed not only the civilization around, but also itself. The tsunami, which happened 5 days after the start of activity, claimed the lives of 4.5 thousand residents. The plume of smoke blocked the sun for three days at 650 km within a radius of the volcano. Electric discharges over the volcano accompanied the entire period of the eruption, which lasted three months. It claimed the lives of 12 thousand people.

The crew of the ship, which arrived on the island with humanitarian aid, was horrified by the picture of destruction they saw: the mountain became equal to the plateau, the whole of Sumbawa was covered with debris and ash.

But the worst thing started later. As a result of the "nuclear winter" more than 50 thousand people died from hunger and epidemics. In the United States, the volcano's climate change triggered the June snow, and a typhoid epidemic broke out in Europe. Crop failure and famine have accompanied many places on the planet for three years.

Santorini (death of civilization)

The once large mountain and island near Greece, in the picture from space, appears in the form of a volcano crater, flooded with the waters of the Aegean Sea. It is impossible to establish, even approximately, the death toll from the eruption of 3.5 thousand years ago. It is only known for certain that as a result of the eruption of Santorini, the Minoan civilization was completely destroyed. According to various sources, the tsunami formed reached 15 to 100 meters in height, overcoming space at a speed of 200 km / h.

By the way, Santorini is on our list in the world.

There is an assumption that the legendary Atlantis was destroyed by the volcano, which is indirectly confirmed by many sources of the ancient civilizations of Greece and Egypt. Some Old Testament stories are also associated with the eruption.

And although these versions are still just legends, one should not forget that Pompeii, at one time, was also considered a hoax.

Volcanic eruptions are terrifyingly magnificent, but they lead at times to catastrophic consequences. Volcanic eruptions to this day are fraught with many mysteries.

About five hundred volcanoes are currently active. The dates of birth of most volcanoes are lost in ancient times, but there are those that are born in our time. These include the Parikutin volcano, which was born in a corn field. This was in 1943 in Mexico, 830 kilometers west of Mexico City.

On the field of a Mexican peasant, on February 5, 1943, a series of constantly increasing tremors began, as a result of which a crack appeared. On February 20, at about 4 pm, the crack began to widen rapidly. The volcano continued to grow throughout the night. At night, huge red-hot "bombs" exploded with a crash. By 8 o'clock in the morning, the 1.5 meter high cone was constantly spewing smoke and stones. By noon, the cone had reached a height of 8 meters. Among the many witnesses to the birth of the volcano were volcanologists. By the end of the first week, the height of the volcano's cone was 15 meters. By the end of the first year, the volcano had grown to 30 meters. In June 1944, there was a strong eruption of the Parikutin volcano. Lava flow descended to the nearest villages, and dense ash partially covered the surrounding settlements.

A volcano is a hole or series of holes in the earth's crust through which volcanic matter is violently ejected into the atmosphere. The nature of magma formation and the energy sources that heat magma to high temperatures remained unknown for a long time. Volcanic eruptions often start suddenly, bringing innumerable disasters to people. Sometimes legends were made about them. Etna is one of the most famous volcanoes.

Etna - the abode of the gods

The myths surrounded Mount Etna. It is the highest and most majestic volcano in Europe. Scientists, poets, historians have never lost interest in Etna. The Greeks, who witnessed the early eruptions of Etna, explained the attachment of people to volcanoes in religious terms. Three eruptions - in 1226, 1170 and -1149 BC - were attributed to the anger of Zeus and the expulsion of Hercules from Sicily.

Another mythological version says that Etna is the workshop of the fire god Hephaestus (Vulcan in Roman mythology). A detailed literary description of the volcanic activity of Etna was left by the poet Pindar. In 474 BC, he brought to the stage the mythical Typhon, whom Zeus imprisoned in the bowels of Etna. And it is the dragon (Typhon), according to this mythological version, that produces this terrifying, furious stream in the depths of the mountain.

Pythagoras himself described a volcanic explosion that occurred in 525 BC. And Thucydides captured another powerful eruption that occurred in 477 BC. Virgil dedicated his poetic gift to Etna. Seneca was interested in the mythology of the mountain. Lucretius made the first scientific attempt to explain the nature of volcanic eruptions - the most magnificent and terrifying natural disaster that sometimes destroys entire cities. Phoenix City

Etna is a constantly erupting volcano that has repeatedly destroyed the city of Catania over the millennia. And this city, like a Phoenix bird ^ repeatedly rose from volcanic ash. People carelessly choose the vicinity of the volcano as their place of residence. At any moment, Etna can explode and bury everything created by people and themselves.

After the eruption of 477 BC, Catania was rebuilt again. It withstood the eruption of 396 BC. In 122 BC, Etna exploded again, and huge masses of volcanic ash settled on the roofs of hundreds of houses.

In 1169 the city of Catania was again destroyed by the eruption of Mount Etna. More than 15,000 residents died. In Messina, hundreds of refugees were washed away by the tsunami caused by the volcanic eruption.

The worst eruption in Etna's long history of explosions occurred in 1669. The number of victims varies according to various estimates from 60,000 to 100,000 people. The main explosion occurred at dawn on March 11 It led to the formation of a giant crack 19 kilometers long. Rivers of molten lava buried 50 settlements

Once again, Etna destroyed Catania. And once again its residents stubbornly rebuilt the city ... Other cities were "lucky" much less:
they were not only not restored after the eruption, but they were forgotten for many centuries.

Destroyed cities

Pompeii - the city on the slope of Vesuvius was the jewel in the crown of the Roman Empire. The city had its own cathedral - the Temple of Jupiter. The city had a grandiose amphitheater that could accommodate 16,000 spectators. This is the entire population of Pompeii. The handsome city grew and flourished.

This continued until August 24, 79 AD. On that day, Vesuvius woke up with an incredible roar after a long hibernation. The volcano exploded, throwing a huge cloud of incandescent ash into the sky. Almost all the inhabitants of the city of Pompeii died in the terrible eruption of the volcano. The lava from the eruption of Vesuvius hermetically sealed the city of Pompeii for centuries under an 8-meter layer of ash and pumice. A special combination of pumice and ash actually sealed the city, saving it from time and destruction. And where Pompeii once stood, they laid out vineyards. Only 1600 years later, the city was excavated, and the history of that fateful DAY was restored.

Already in our century was destroyed by a volcanic eruption one of the most beautiful "cities of the West Indies, completely built of stone. In 1902 the volcano Mont Pele exploded, destroying the port of Martinique - St. Pierre. In the blink of an eye, 36,000 people were killed.

Mont Pele towered over the city of Saint Pierre, the largest settlement on the island. According to contemporaries, it was the most unusual and beautiful city among the cities of the West Indies. It was built entirely of stone. No one could have imagined that in a matter of minutes the stone city would be wiped off the face of the earth.

The dawn of May 8, 1902 was clear. The day promised to be sunny. The column of steam from the Moi-Pele crater rose higher than usual, but other than that, there was nothing exceptional or strange about the volcano's behavior. About three minutes, an ocean-going ship with ash-covered decks entered the port of St. Pierre and anchored alongside other ships. And at 7 hours and 50 minutes, Mont Pele was torn to pieces.

There were four deafening explosions, similar to cannon shots. They threw a black cloud from the main crater, which was pierced by flashes of lightning. With a hurricane speed, fire and brimstone rushed down the slope of the mountain directly towards Saint-Pierre. In a matter of minutes, almost the entire population of the city was destroyed. They either instantly burned out, or instantly suffocated. All the houses, all the buildings of St. Pierre collapsed. Not only cities, but entire countries were threatened by volcanic destruction.

Volcano against country

Iceland is one of the most volcanically active places in the world. The largest volcanic ridge on the island - Laki is 24 kilometers long and consists of hundreds of craters. Over the past millennium, Iceland has experienced an average of one volcanic eruption every 5 years. But the worst catastrophe happened in 1783. A monstrous volcanic explosion occurred on the island. The volcano's activity continued for months from January to June 1783 and claimed nearly 20,000 lives. More than a third of Iceland's population died.

A few days before the eruption of Lucky, the sea literally boiled. Iceland's 50,000 people were horrified after the ground shook for weeks in a row. People hid in their houses, locked the windows and doors.

On June 11, 1783, the volcanic mountain exploded with a terrible crash and shattered, forming a 24-kilometer rift. A powerful stream of lava escaped. Some rivers dried up within a few hours. Instead of water, lava flows rushed along the river beds, the width of which reached 60 meters. Lava rushed to the sea. Having reached the water, the lava turned it into a lar. Fish within a radius of several kilometers were destroyed.

Ash filled the air and darkened the daylight. Pastures around 80 kilometers were poisoned. Over the next two years, most of Iceland's livestock died. Volcanic ash destroyed fish and crops. Many people died of hunger.

The huge lava flow had a total volume greater than Mont Blanc. In total, the flows poured out such an amount of lava that it could flood an area of ​​2,600 square kilometers 45 meters thick.

Where does such a tremendous amount of energy come from in an extremely small volume of magma chambers of volcanoes? This is the main problem in volcanology.

The main mystery of volcanoes

The main question in volcanology is as follows. Why are there small areas - volcanoes, in which the temperature of the substance is hundreds of times higher than the temperature of the surrounding substance? How can heat spontaneously concentrate in volcanoes, contrary to its natural tendency to dissipate? Why isn't heat evenly distributed in the earth's crust? What is the nature of the energy sources of volcanoes?

To keep volcanic matter from cooling, a compact "natural source of energy is needed. It must not only maintain the temperature of magma, but also occasionally lead to catastrophic eruptions. Such sources are terrestrial black holes. They can provide energy to volcanoes for millions of years."

Micro-black holes T have a higher temperature and significant energy release. The energy of black holes can set in motion plates in the mantle, lead to earthquakes, and serve as a source ("hot spot") of volcanic energy. For example, the Klyuchevskoy volcano can provide energy with a black hole, which is half the size of the nucleus of a hydrogen atom.

Black holes do not exist alone, but are part of gravitationally coupled systems. The explosion of one of the otons of the system causes a catastrophic eruption of ul "kana. But this does not mean the cessation of volcanic activity in this area, since other otons of the system will continue to release energy. This explains the fact that even after the most catastrophic eruptions, such as the eruption of Krakatau in 1883, the volcano continues its activity.

"End of the World" in Krakatoa

In the Indonesian archipelago in 1883, there was a catastrophic eruption of the Krakatoa volcano. It was located on a small island of the same name in the strait, between the large densely populated islands of Sumatra and Java. The island measured 9 kilometers by 5 kilometers and was deserted.

On August 26 at 13 o'clock, the windows of houses on neighboring islands rattled from the first explosions of Krakatoa. Cracks spread from the volcano in all directions in the soil. At 14 o'clock, a huge cloud rose over Krakatoa, reaching a height of 27 kilometers. tens of kilometers of ships and from the coasts of Java and Sumatra.

Immediately after sunset, deep darkness reigned. Dull sounds were heard. There was a crash from Mount Krakatoa. Bright lightning flashed every minute. Explosions and crashes continued throughout the night until the morning of 27 August. Houses collapsed from tremors on nearby islands. At a distance of 160 kilometers - in Java and Batavia - the rumble was such that everyone woke up.

By the morning of August 27, 1983, the rehearsal for the catastrophe that shook the whole world was over, and the time for the main action came. A colossal explosion was heard near Yuchasov in the morning. At 10 hours 54 minutes, a second gigantic explosion of the same force occurred.

The massive eruption blew apart the Krakatoa volcano. More than 18 cubic kilometers of debris and ash were thrown into the atmosphere after the explosion. Gases, vapors, ash and debris were lifted to a height of 70-80 kilometers and dispersed over an area of ​​about 3.8 million square kilometers.

The heavens seemed like a solid burst of flame. The clouds took on fantastic shapes. The explosions continued throughout the night from 27 to 28 August, but their strength was weakening. In the region of Krakatoa, pitch darkness fell on the area, plunging an area within a radius of more than 400 kilometers in the early night. The eruptions ended on February 20, 1884. As a result of "the eruption, most of the island of Krakatoa disappeared. In place of the island, a caldera was formed - a giant volcanic funnel with a diameter of 3 kilometers and a depth of 300 meters.

In some places, houses were destroyed at a distance of 800 kilometers from the volcano. A mass of pumice covered the sea surface like real floating islands, which rose 2 meters above the sea surface. In Sumatra, the layers of floating pumice were so thick that the largest ships could hardly cut through them.

Waves devouring villages

And then one of the most terrible consequences of the eruption arose - the tsunami. They roared down the coast of Java and Sumatra. The wave partially or completely destroyed 295 settlements. The height of the waves reached 36 meters. Many islands disappeared under water along with the population.

Monstrous waves instantly engulfed cities, villages, forests. Two inhabited islands were buried in giant tsunami waves. Almost two and a half thousand workers of the quarry, which was at a height of 4 meters above, were killed. sea ​​level. The German warship was picked up by the tsunami and thrown into the interior of the island of Sumatra for almost three kilometers. The ship landed in the forest at an altitude of 9 meters above sea level.

The tsunami caused by the explosion reached a height of 30-35 meters on the shores of Java and Sumatra and 1 meter on the shores of South America. It was also recorded off the coast of France. Waves were observed along the entire coast of the Indian Ocean, which also spread throughout the Pacific Ocean and reached the western shores of America. The tsunami caused by the explosion of Krakatoa was so powerful that it bypassed the entire planet.

The shores of Sumatra and Java have changed beyond recognition. On the coast of the Sunda Strait, fertile soil was washed away down to the rocky base. Rich tropical vegetation disappeared without a trace wherever sea waves appeared. The ground was covered with gray mud and eruption products. Trees uprooted, the remains of buildings, the corpses of people and animals dotted the coast.

Loudest sound on earth

The roar of the disastrous eruption of the Krakatoa volcano on August 27, 1883 was the loudest sound that mankind has ever heard. The sound of the explosion of Krakatoa was heard at a great distance. The roar of the eruption was heard in the city of Manila, located 2 thousand kilometers from Krakatoa, as well as in Central Australia, at a distance of 3,600 kilometers, and on the island of Madagascar (4,775 kilometers from Krakatoa).

On Rodriguez Island in the Indian Ocean, 4800 kilometers from Krakatoa, a sound was recorded exactly 4 hours after the Eruption. In Western Australia, on the plains of Victoria, at the sound of a volcanic eruption, herds of sheep went into panic flight. The sound was also heard in the United States. The sound of the explosion is considered the loudest sound ever heard on earth, and the shock waves circled the earth 7 times. The Earth's atmosphere rang and trembled from the volcanic impulse. One hundred thousand atomic bombs detonated in Krakatoa

During the eruption, a huge amount of energy was released from the bowels. This is the energy of one hundred thousand atomic bombs detonated over Hiroshima. On the islands located 20 kilometers from Krakatoa, the entire population was destroyed. The total number of victims according to various sources is estimated from 40 thousand to 200 thousand people And, obviously, there would have been more victims if Krakatoa were an inhabited island. No matter how many inhabitants there were - millions or tens of millions of people, all of them on this terrible day would be buried in a terrible catastrophe.

Blue Sun, Green Moon

After the volcanic explosions of Krakatoa, dust clouds were noted over Europe, North and South America, Hawaii and Australia. For 2-Zyears after the eruption, the level of solar radiation decreased by 20-30%, and the absolute values ​​of world temperatures dropped by almost one degree Celsius.

Unusual purple sunsets caused by volcanic dust clouding of the atmosphere have been observed in Paris, Sydney and San Francisco for several months. In some places above the Earth, the Sun appeared blue, and the Moon X appeared bright green.

Science could not explain such a grandiose volcanic explosion for a long time. If such an explosion took place now in the area of ​​modern cities, it would have brought innumerable sacrifices, surpassing the victims of world wars. Such explosions occurring in the centers of earthly civilization (and not on a deserted island in the ocean) have a catastrophic effect on the fate of mankind. The history of mankind contains examples of such disasters. This is the great explosion of the Santorini volcano in 1400 BC in the Mediterranean Sea.

Sangorin: The Greatest Disaster of the Ancient World

The Santorini catastrophe has been noticed quite recently. Santorini volcano is so huge (caldera diameter is about 14 kilometers) that it seemed impossible for volcanoes. It was believed that this geological formation (Santorini) could in no way be a raised volcano.

The most powerful eruptions of Santorini were not known either in the classical era or in the Middle Ages. Only scientific research, begun at the end of the last century & the Eastern Mediterranean, made it possible to establish this grandiose geological phenomenon.

In the Mediterranean Sea in 1400 BC, there was a huge explosion of Santorim volcano, as a result of which a caldera with an area of ​​83 square kilometers was formed. At the foot of the volcano, the thickness of volcanic deposits ranges from 30 to 65 meters. At 30 kilometers from the volcano, the thickness of volcanic deposits was 5 meters, at 200 kilometers - 2 meters.

The explosion expelled 72 cubic kilometers of material. This is almost four times more than in the explosion of the Krakatoa volcano. The area covered by the intense ash fall exceeded 200,000 square kilometers. The eruption was accompanied by a catastrophic tsunami. This eruption caused the decline of the Minoan civilization. Death of Atlantis

Until the beginning of the 20th century, almost nothing was known about the existence of a large sea state on the islands of the Aegean Sea 4–5 thousand years ago. In March 1900, the English archeologist A. Evans began to excavate on the island of Crete. Already the first months of work yielded amazing results. The ruins of a huge palace with magnificent frescoes were discovered. Many rooms, passages and courtyards were discovered. from the famous ancient Greek myth about Theseus So the world learned about the existence of the Cretan-Mycenaean culture, about the mighty sea power that dominated the Mediterranean in the III-II millennia BC.

This highly developed civilization in its main centers - the island of Crete and the city of Mycenae on the continent - was called the Cretan-Mycenaean. Other names for this civilization are Aegean (by sea) and Minoan (after the legendary ruler of Crete - King Minos)

According to archaeological evidence, the Minoan eruption of the Santorini volcano occurred in the period between the reigns of the pharaohs Thutmose III and Amenhotep IV. According to the totality of other historical signs, the most probable date is 1400 BC (the time of the destruction of the palaces of Crete). The heyday of the Cretan state gave way to decline. The once flourishing settlements have disappeared from the face of the Earth. The settlements of Crete were covered with a thick layer of ash.

Evans' discovery also illuminated the problem of Atlantis in a completely new way. In 1939, the Greek archaeologist Spyridon Marinatos came up with an interesting hypothesis. He suggested that the colossal volcanic eruption on the island of Santorini was the cause of the death of the Minoan civilization.

The history of Atlantis, an island empire that sank within 24 hours, was told by Plato in his writings. In our century, it has been suggested that the eruption of the Santorini volcano in 1400 BC destroyed exactly Atlantis.

Attention was also drawn to the fact that the civilization inscribed by Plato, in which bronze was used intensively, resembled the Minoan civilization. In other words, the Cretan-Mycenaean power, which dominated the Mediterranean in antiquity, is the legendary Atlantis.

By placing the disappeared country of Plato in the region of the Aegean Mora and linking its death with the eruption of Santorini, one can restore the size of the legendary Atlantis, imagine the flourishing of culture and art that existed there, and describe the whole tragedy. The death of the highly developed Minoan state, naturally, affected the course of the further historical process,

During the Santorini catastrophe, the destruction was even more grandiose than in the catastrophic explosion of Krakatoa. Traces of Santorini ash and pumice were found in the coastal zones of North Africa and Asia Minor. The assumption that the eruption of Santorini destroyed Atlantis is only part of the intriguing story. its source is the catastrophic eruption of Santorini, for example, the plot of the "Darkness of Egypt".

After the giant explosion, the concentration of gases in the atmosphere was so high that clouds of ash covered the sun. For several days, darkness fell on Egypt and the eastern Mediterranean Sea, caused by a volcanic cloud.

The Bible describes it like this. "And the Lord said to Moses, stretch out your hand to heaven, and there will be darkness in the land of Egypt, a tangible darkness. Moses stretched out his hand to heaven, and there was thick darkness throughout all the land of Egypt for three days, they did not see each other, no one got up from their place his three days "(" Exodus ", 10.21-23),

Considering that after the eruption of the Krakatoa volcano, total darkness remained for 22 hours at a distance of up to 200 kilometers, it is likely that during the Santorini eruption, darkness over Egypt lasted for at least three days.

The energy of the explosion of the Santorini volcano was 10 times higher than that of the explosion of Krakatoa and reached 10 ^ 27 erg. This is a million atomic bombs detonated over Hiroshima. This kind of energy can only be found in an exploding Black Hole. And a formidable reminder of the sinister power of black holes is Tambora. The giant explosion of the Tambora volcano occurred during the Napoleonic wars.

Tambora - warning about the impending explosion of a million atomic bombs

The grandiose eruption of the Tambora volcano began on April 10, 1815. Above the volcano, a pillar rose 80 kilometers in height, which was saturated with volcanic ash. The huge volcano Tambora, which had a height of about four kilometers, on April 12, scattered into many parts. The island of Sumbawa, on which the volcano was located, sank. 12,000 inhabitants of the island died instantly. Another 37,000 people died on the neighboring islands. The total death toll has reached one hundred thousand.

The eruption threw 1.7 million tons of debris into the air. Most of them fell to the ground after a while and caused a huge number of victims. The finest dust was formed, which was suspended in the atmosphere.

This dust was then transferred to the stratosphere and began to circle around the Earth, reflecting the rays coming from the Sun back into space. This deprived the Earth of some of its warmth and colored sunsets in a spectacular orange. The catastrophic eruption of the Tambora volcano caused the famous "year without summer". This year was marked by a widespread drop in temperature. In the summer of 1915, there were long cold rains. Tambora and now is a formidable reminder of the mighty forces of nature, which humanity cannot resist.

At the end of this century, even more powerful, but so far uncontrollable forces of nature opened up before humanity. A terrible reminder of them on Earth are the catastrophic explosions of volcanoes, the energy of which reaches the energy of the explosion of a million atomic bombs. In the last century, there were two catastrophic volcanic eruptions: the grandiose explosions of Krakatoa and Tambor. Is it possible that between the explosion of the Santorini volcano, which occurred more than three millennia ago, and the Tambora volcano, there were no such powerful volcanic disasters?

Let's make some comments on this. Despite the fact that the energy of the explosion of the Tambora volcano is much higher than the energy of the explosion of the Krakatau volcano, the Tamborin disaster is less known. And it's not about their location. Both volcanoes were located in the Indonesian archipelago.

It's about the timing of these disasters:

one happened at the beginning of the nineteenth century, and the other at the end. If these catastrophes on the islands of Indonesia occurred during the Santorim catastrophe, it is unlikely that we would have known anything about them. Good luck! "Laziness from the centers of earthly civilization," low population, lack of mass media - all this together would make information about similar events practically inaccessible to the overwhelming majority of people

Santorini is located in the center of earthly civilization, but only in the twentieth century geological studies of the volcanic island made it possible to learn about this major disaster. For millennia, information about the Santorini catastrophe has been lost to science. Perhaps, traces of other volcanic disasters, not inferior to the Santorini one, can still be found.

In the nineteenth century, two volcanic disasters were recorded, in the current century such an event has not yet been observed. When and where can it happen? If we take the statistics of catastrophic volcanic eruptions in the nineteenth century as a standard, then in the twentieth century an explosion like Krakatoa or Tambora is clearly delayed. Thus, Tambora warns. the explosion of a million atomic bombs is expected, which is capable of destroying an island or even an entire country. Is it possible to predict the place and time of such disasters? This is discussed in detail in the author's book "Black Holes Against Humanity", published in 1999. But this is not yet the most terrible danger threatening humanity from the side of black holes. The monstrous power of black holes is capable of splitting continents and even entire planets. But this is a topic for another article.