Vesuvius is Europe’s most dangerous volcano
If Italy’s Mount Vesuvius erupted today, it could result in more than 8,000 fatalities, 13,000 serious injuries and total economic losses of more than $24 billion.
The Willis Research Network (WRN) released its list of the top ten most dangerous volcanoes in Europe, and Vesuvius came in on top.
The WRN team said that Vesuvius poses the greatest risk to life and property, the study found, because it has the highest exposed population (1.7 million people), the highest exposed residential property value (US $66.1 billion), and the greatest potential for a seriously damaging eruption among the top 10 volcanoes. The study noted that more than 87 percent of the aggregated exposed property value for the 10 volcanoes is concentrated in the Neapolitan region near Vesuvius and Campi Flegrei.
The Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland that erupted on April 14 was not on the list, but the Hekla volcano, Iceland’s most active, was ranked as the ninth most dangerous volcano in Europe.
The WRN European volcano risk ranking below shows the number of people living in the area that could be affected by 25 cm of ash fall in the assumed greatest eruption. It also shows the total residential property value exposed to severe damage or destruction in that eruption, taking into account the total number of dwellings within possible reach of pyroclastic flows or 25 cm ash fall and their full current reconstruction cost. While the Caribbean volcano of Soufrière Saint Vincent is not on European soil, it has been included in the top 10 due to the significant impact that an eruption would have on European territory.
Volcano Country Affected population Values of residences at risk (US$B)
1.Vesuvius Italy 1,651,950 66.1
2.Campi Flegrei Italy 144,144 7.8
3.La Soufrière France 94,037 3.8
4.Etna Italy 70,819 2.8
5.Agua de Pau Portugal 34,307 1.4
6.Saint Vincent Caribbean 24,493 1.0
7.Furnas Portugal 19,862 0.8
8.Sete Cidades Portugal 17,889 0.7
9.Hekla Iceland 10,024 0.4
10. Mt Pelée France 10,002 0.4
To read the full paper, see this PDF.
[...] The eruptions of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano in April caused enormous disruption on air travel and reinforced the need for risk management and business continuity plans. Airlines reportedly lost $1.7 billion in revenues which made many of us wonder about the damage some of Europe’s other volcanoes could cause. [...]