Geological hazard: how volcanic hazard assessment improves the safety of people living in the foothills of volcanoes

Natural phenomena such as floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides and volcanoes are awakening increasing interest among scientists and the general public. The frequency and magnitude of these phenomena do not seem to have increased over recent years. However, and owing largely to the exponential growth of the world’s population, their effects are more and more devastating. Studying these “geo-hazards” enables us to not only identify them and discover their causes and effects, but also to establish measures to prevent them and reduce their negative effects. At the ICTJA-CSIC, researchers study volcanic processes and assess the hazards associated with these geological phenomena. More than 2 million people in Spain live close by volcanoes, and that figure rises to hundreds of millions when we consider the rest of the world. Volcanic hazard analysis is, therefore, a highly valuable scientific application given that it can help to reduce the impact of possible future eruptions on nearby populations.