By Caoimhe Leamy

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius

WHERE IS MOUNT VESUVIUS ? Mount Vesuvius is a volcano about 9km

inland from the gulf of Naples in Italy. It is one of the several volcanoes which forms

the companion volcanic arc shown in red below.

BACKGROUND TO THE ERUPTION

It is considered one of the most dangerous volcanos in the world.

It is called the Stratovolcano which is a volcano made up of layers of Ash and Lava

It was no surprise that Mt Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD as the signs were there years before :

In 63 AD, a big earthquake took place and was still being repaired when Mt. Vesuvius erupted many years later.

WHAT HAPPENED? In 79 AD 24th of August, it erupted and expelled

molten rock and pumice at a rate of 1.5 tons per sec

It covered the whole town of Pompeii which is nearby with many of its people being buried alive.

The following morning a toxic cloud of gas descended on the town

20,000 people lived in Pompeii and 5,000 lived in Herculaneum, a town nearby and it’s estimated that 16,000 people died

THE AFTERMATH? Normally after a disaster, cities are rebuilt

but not on this occasion – why … ? Apparently the damage was so extensive

that no attempt was made to re-occupy the area.

However looters returned to Pompeii, digging tunnels through the Ash and robbing many of the cities riches. Being covered in molten lava and ash, which acted as a preservative, then many bodies were preserved as shown.

CURRENT STATUS Mt Vesuvius is still considered an active

Volcano. The most recent eruption occurred in 1944 Experts believe that a massive eruption could

happen again soon so more than 2 million people who live in the area are still in danger.

The region is now a famous tourist attraction with thousands visiting there each year.