The largest volcanic eruptions in the XXI century

According to various estimates, there are from 1000 to 1500 active volcanoes on Earth. There are active, that is, constantly or periodically erupting, dormant and extinct volcanoes, about the eruption of which there is no historical data. Almost 90% of the active volcanoes are located in the so-called fire belt of the Earth - a chain of seismically active zones and volcanoes, including underwater ones, stretching from the coast of Mexico to the south through the Philippine and Indonesian archipelagos and to New Zealand.

Mauna Loa, Hawaii. (USGS photo for Reuters)

The largest active volcano on earth is Mauna Loa on the island of Hawaii, USA - 4170 m above sea level and about 10,000 m from the base on the ocean floor, the crater has an area of more than 10 sq. km.

Nyiragongo, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Eruption on August 30, 2010. (Photo: Reuters)

January 17, 2002 - The eruption of the Nyiragongo volcano in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Under the lava flows, more than half of the city of Goma, located 10 km away, and 14 surrounding villages were buried. The disaster claimed more than 100 lives and expelled up to 300 thousand residents from their homes. Huge damage was caused to coffee and banana plantations.

Etna, Italy. November 17, 2013. (Photo: Reuters)

On October 27, 2002, the eruption of the Sicilian volcano Etna, the highest in Europe (3329 m above sea level), began. The eruption ended only on January 30, 2003. Volcanic lava destroyed several tourist campsites, a hotel, ski lifts and groves of Mediterranean pine. The eruption of the volcano caused about 140 million euros of damage to the agriculture of Sicily. It also erupted in 2004, 2007, 2008 and 2011.

Soufriere, Montserrat Island. February 19, 1999. (Photo: Reuters)

July 12, 2003 - the eruption of the Soufriere volcano on the island of Montserrat (archipelago of the Lesser Antilles, possession of Great Britain). The 102 sq. km island suffered significant material damage. Ash that covered almost the entire island, acid rain and volcanic gases destroyed up to 95% of the crop, the fishing industry suffered great losses. The territory of the island was declared a disaster zone.

On February 12, 2010, the eruption of the Soufriere volcano began again. A powerful "rain" of ashes fell on several settlements of the island of Grand Ter (Guadeloupe, possession of France). In Pointe-a-Pitre, all schools were closed. The local airport has temporarily stopped its work.

Merapi, Java Island. May 15, 2006. (Photo: Reuters)

In May 2006, during the eruption of Mount Merapi on the Indonesian island of Java, the most active of the island's 42 volcanoes, a four-kilometer column of smoke and ash rose, in connection with which the authorities announced a ban on aircraft flights not only over Java, but also on international airlines from Australia to Singapore.

On June 14, 2006, the eruption occurred again. Up to 700 thousand cubic meters of incandescent lava flowed down the slopes. 20 thousand people were evacuated.

As a result of the eruption on October 26, 2010, which lasted about two weeks, lava flows spread for five kilometers, more than 50 million cubic meters of volcanic ash mixed with basalt dust and sand were released into the atmosphere. 347 people became victims of the disaster, over 400 thousand residents were evacuated. The eruption disrupted air traffic over the island.

Tungurahua, Ecuador. November 29, 2010. (Photo: Reuters)

On August 17, 2006 in Ecuador, as a result of a powerful eruption of the Tungurahua volcano, located 180 km from the Ecuadorian capital Quito, at least six people were killed, dozens were burned and injured. Thousands of peasants were forced to leave their homes, due to toxic gases and ash, livestock deaths were observed, almost the entire crop was lost.

Redout, USA. February 2, 2002. (Photo: Reuters)

In 2009, Alaska Airlines repeatedly canceled flights due to the eruption of the Redout volcano, from the crater of which ash was ejected to a height of up to 15 km. The volcano is located 176 km southwest of Anchorage, Alaska, USA.

Eyjafjallajokull, Iceland. April 22, 2010. (Photo: Reuters)

On April 14, 2010, the eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull led to the largest crisis in the history of passenger aviation. The resulting ash cloud covered almost the whole of Europe, which led to the fact that in the period from April 15 to April 20, 18 European states completely closed their skies, and the rest of the countries were forced to close and open their air spaces depending on weather conditions. The Governments of these countries have decided to stop flights in connection with the recommendations of the European Bureau for the Control of the Safety of Air Navigation.

In May 2010, due to the next activation of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull, the airspace over Northern Ireland, in the north-west of Turkey, over Munich (Germany), over Northern and partly Central England, as well as over a number of areas of Scotland was closed. The airports of London, as well as Amsterdam and Rotterdam (the Netherlands) fell into the ban zone. Due to the advance of the volcanic ash cloud to the south, flights were canceled at airports in Portugal, northwestern Spain, and northern Italy.

Pacaya, Guatemala. August 9, 2006. (Photo: Reuters)

On May 27, 2010, in Guatemala, as a result of the eruption of the Pacaya volcano, two people were killed, three were missing, 59 were injured and about 2 thousand were left homeless. Due to sand and ash, agricultural crops were damaged, more than 100 residential buildings were damaged or destroyed.

Grimsvotn, Iceland. May 22, 2011. (Photo: Reuters)

On May 22-25, 2011, the volcano Grimsvotn (Iceland) erupted, as a result of which Iceland's airspace was temporarily closed. Ash clouds reached the airspace of Great Britain, Germany and Sweden, some flights were canceled. According to volcanologists, the volcano emitted much more ash into the atmosphere than the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in April 2010, but the ash particles were heavier and settled to the ground faster, so the transport collapse was avoided.

Puyue, Chile. June 5, 2011. (Photo: Reuters)

On June 4, 2011, the eruption of the Puyehue volcano, located on the Chilean side of the Andes, began. The ash column reached a height of 12 km . In neighboring Argentina, ash and small stones fell on the resort town of San Carlos de Bariloche, the work of the airports of Buenos Aires (Argentina) and Montevideo (Uruguay) was paralyzed for several days.

Rokatenda, Indonesia. August 12, 2013. (Photo: Reuters)

On August 10, 2013, six local residents died in Indonesia as a result of the eruption of the Rokatenda volcano, located on the small island of Palue. About two thousand people were evacuated from the danger zone — a quarter of the residents who were on the island.

Ontake, Japan. September 27, 2014. (Photo: Reuters)

The unexpected eruption of the volcano began on September 27, 2014. It was accompanied by powerful emissions of toxic gases.

Climbers and tourists who were on the slopes of the mountain at the time of the eruption were killed and injured. Japanese doctors have officially confirmed the death of 48 people as a result of the eruption of the volcano Ontake. According to the Japanese press, almost 70 people suffered from poisoning by poisonous gases and respiratory tract damage by incandescent volcanic ash. In total, there were about 250 people on the mountain.