Mount Merapi, 2010, Java

Explosivity and plate margins

VEI 4, destructive margin (Indo Australian subducts Eurasian)

Primary impacts

353 deaths, 350,000 displaced, pyroclastic flows for 15km incinerated villages,lahars destroyed 860 homes,contamination of water

Secondary impacts

$600 million damage (local industries destroyed), 2,500 flights cancelled, 50% survivors suffered from PTSD or mental difficulties, aic rain/lahars destroyed and contaminated ecosystems

Short term responses (evaluation)

200+ temporary shelters, military and NGOs (Red Cross) distributed provisions, non compliance to cultural attachment and logistical strain, 20km exclusion zone

Long term responses (evaluation)

Permanent relocation of 2,500, Infrastructure repaired (roads) for greater evacuation, new monitoring centre established, severing cultural ties caused some residents to return to unsafe areas

Vulnerability

11,000 living on the slopes, most active volcano on Earth so constantly monitored by tiltmeters, fatalism/ locals relying on indigenous warning signs