Mount Ontake 2014

• The mount Ontake eruption had a VEI of 3.
• Located in Japan, Honshu island which is around 100km northeast of Nagoya around 200km southwest of Tokyo.
• It occurred on the 27th September, 2014.
• There were 57 deaths of mostly climbers and hikers on the slope of volcanoes, with an additional 40 injured.
• total cost of damages were approximately £800,713.
• benefits of living in the location

  a noted tourist destination;

  a place of spiritual pilgrimage for many Japanese people;

  mineral-rich soil for farming (13% of land is used for farming);

  Dams and hydroelectric infrastructure as a geothermal energy fuel.
• population density of 336 per km2 in 2014, with a total population of 127.3 million 2014.
• GDP per capita was USD$38,475 in 2014
• HDI at 0.914 in 2014.
• vulnerability factors


  poisonous ash cloud;

  composite volcano.
• rescue effort were hampered by heavy rain and a typhoon warming.
• The pacific and philippine plates subducted under the Eurasian plate as a convergent plate boundary (oceanic plate subducting under the continental plate.
• Lava with high silica produced violent eruptions
• Produced pyroclastic flow approximately 2.5km along the valley at an average speed of 32km/h
• heavy cloud of ash billowed down the mountainside for more than 3km, engulfing hikers in its path; visibility was completely reduced.
• heavy toxic volcano ash up to 30 to 50 cm thick covered much of the mountains.
• pebble-sized rocks exploded out of the volcano that are very likely to cause deaths as they fly through the air at 300 km/h at the same time heavily polluting the atmosphere.
• eruption was phreatic as water seeped into the volcano and became superheated by the magma; ejected hot ash and rocks and steam
• ash plume reached to a height of more than 4 miles
• 57 people dead, majority were hikers near the top of the volcano (social short term)
• over 500 firefighters and Japanese self defence force rescued 31 people on foot (social short term)
• 1/2 meter of ash’s covered local area, piling up on the roofs causing buildings to collapse under the weight (social short term)
• As Otaki village is located under the mountain the eruption has led to villagers moving out of the habitat, leading to the village is near to being an abandoned village (social long term)
• ski resorts were forced to shut down (economic short term)
• flights were cancelled due to ‘no fly zones’ this had led o people being unable to go to work after holiday therefore effecting the productivity of the other economies (economic short term)
• 18 hectares of damaged in Kiso and nearby Villages with 30 out of 32 cabbage farms damaged. Amongst all cops, crops located in Hakusai is the most affected (economic short term)
• the ash and pyroclastic flows are laced with minerals and elements that act as a fundamental fertiliser making the soil fertile and rich in elements such as copper, iron, cobalt; renewal allows plants to prosper once more (economic long term)
• the area was already at dept at the times of the eruption due to their only income from small scale farming and tourism the only investment of the ski resort has helped the area to gain more income into the area, however the ski resort is forced to be shut down after eruption had taken place (economic long term)
• ‘Bad image’ of the Mount Ontake led to a long-term decline in tourist industry which has forced businesses to close down (economic long term)
• £1 million were bought by families of the dead against the government (political long term)
• 2 seismographs were faulty but were left unfixed which has led to the country loosing confidence in the government (political short term)
• Volcanic ash caused respiratory issues in animals of the surrounding areas (environmental long term)
• 1/2 a metre of ash burning the local forest lead to plants being unable to photosynthesise and die leading to a loss of habitats (environmental short term)
• modify the event; short term

  200 men constructed rubber barriers to stop lava
• modify the event; long term


  built a USD$3 million lava diversion;

  monitoring of gas levels to predict eruption;

  local government spend more money and time on monitoring the volcano and increase funding to the Meteorological Agency.
• modify the vulnerability; short term

  closed the airport, expressways and trains;

  school children were given helmets in risky areas;

  gas masks were handed out for protection from ash and gas.
• modify the loss; short term


  PM Shinzo Abe ordered the military to assist with emergency rescue operations;

  1000 Japanese rescue workers set out to search the peak popular with hikers after its sudden eruption that trapped hundreds on the mountainside;

  aid sent by China and USA to provide emergency care and rescue;

  clean up and removal of ash from farmland.
• modify vulnerability; long term

  better evacuation plan are taught to local tour guides and villagers if situation was to occur;

  children were given helmets and practice drills;

  hazard maps and evacuation plans commissioned.
• modify the loss; long term

  offered insurance payments for volcanic damage to 300000 yen;

  increased access to insurance protection companies from volcano damage with a payment of 10000000 yen;

  concrete bunkers were built to shelter people from falling rocks;

  safety packs given to climbers and trekkers to reduce injury and inhalation damage if the volcano was to erupt.