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.
