A global disaster never witnessed by modern man may one day mushroom above the pine forests and hot springs of Yellowstone National Park in the United States. While ordinary volcanoes can kill thousands of people and destroy entire cities, it’s thought a supervolcano could claim up to a billion lives and devastate continents. Heavy stuff: Ash from the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines settles on the tail section of a World Airways DC-10, causing to tilt onto it’s rear wheels. It’s very likely a super-eruption would shutdown airports worldwide.
“A super-eruption is the world’s biggest bang”, says Prof. Bill McGuire of the Benfield Greig Hazard Research Centre at the University of London. “It’s a volcanic explosion big enough to dwarf all others and with a reach great enough to affect everyone on the planet”. Considering their destructive potential, it’s a good thing super-eruptions are so rare - the last one happened in Toba, Indonesia, about 74,000 years ago. Geologist think the eruptions take place about every 50,000 years, which suggests one is overdue.
“A super-eruption is the world’s biggest bang”, says Prof. Bill McGuire of the Benfield Greig Hazard Research Centre at the University of London. “It’s a volcanic explosion big enough to dwarf all others and with a reach great enough to affect everyone on the planet”. Considering their destructive potential, it’s a good thing super-eruptions are so rare - the last one happened in Toba, Indonesia, about 74,000 years ago. Geologist think the eruptions take place about every 50,000 years, which suggests one is overdue.
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