Val Calanna

Humankind and the volcano: how should we behave? Volcanic risk

There is no doubt that simply in terms of time, volcanoes have been on Earth for much longer than the human race, who then chose volcanoes as the places to found their cities, including thanks to the fertile soil . However, humans often forget that they have built in a context like no other, where sooner or later the volcano might make them pay heavily for this “intrusion”.
Therefore, we must always remember that volcanoes are invasive because they threaten our inhabited areas, but that we live in a system that is alive and continuously evolving. As a result, it is necessary to integrate into the surrounding environment as well as possible to prevent suffering damage and loss.
Volcanic risk is generally considered to be the product of:

Risk = Danger x Vulnerability x Exposure

Danger refers to the possible eruptive scenario of any given volcano, which we know through volcanology. Therefore, in order to reduce the risk, it is necessary to reduce the vulnerability of the properties that are exposed, i.e. make them safe for the given expected scenario, while understanding that the exposure, i.e. the value of the property, remains constant. An example of this could be the construction of a nursery school or hospital in an area where lava flows are expected. This greatly increases the volcanic risk, but the danger of the volcano remains constant.
This must therefore be kept in mind when planning human intervention in volcanic areas.

Val Calanna, the first step towards a single large volcanic structure

Valle del Leone and the Elliptical

The Jaci river

The different names of the “Muntagna”

The senses tell Torre del Filosofo

The continuous evolution of the Etna summit craters

The 1669 eruption in Catania

The senses tell The Red Mountains

Etna: a marvellous group of microclimates and vegetation

The “notches” of snow

The senses tell The Summit craters

The Red Mountains and the destructive eruption of 1669

Humankind and the volcano: how should we behave? Volcanic risk

Summit crater activity between 2011 and 2019

Acireale and reconstruction after the 1693 earthquake

Volcanic monitoring and eruption forecasting

The senses tell The Etna viewpoint

An ever-evolving volcano

The eruption of 1928 that destroyed the town of Mascali

Etna, wine terroir of excellence

The Grand Tour in Sicily

Acireale and its “timpe”

Malavoglia

The senses tell Acireale

A fauna context yet to be discovered

The senses tell Valle del Leone

The senses tell Acicastello and Acitrezza

The first Etnean volcanic events between Aci Castello and Aci Trezza

The Elliptical, the first great volcano of Etna

Empedocles and his passion for Etna

Torre del Filosofo: at the base of the summit craters (2950 metres)

The senses tell Val Calanna

The 2001 eruption of Mount Etna, where the approach to volcanoes changed

Lachea Island and the Aci Trezza Stacks

Why did Etna form in that specific geographical position?

The earthquake that changed the geography of eastern Sicily in 1693

Etna, an ever-changing natural laboratory

The Etna viewpoint

The fault system of the “Timpe” of Acireale

Etna, the living mountain