Volcano Disaster

For months in early 1980, scientists, journalists, and ordinary people listened anxiously to rumblings in the long quiescent volcano Mount St. Helens. Still, when a massive explosion took the top off the mountain, no one was prepared. Fifty-seven people died, including newlywed logger John Killian (for years afterward, his father searched for him in the ash), scientist Dave Johnston, and celebrated local curmudgeon Harry Truman. The lives of many others were forever changed.

Volcanoes have fascinated - and terrified - people for ages. They have destroyed cities and ended civilizations. In this book, John Dvorak, the acclaimed author of Earthquake Storms, looks into the early years of volcanology and its "father", Thomas Jaggar. Jaggar was the youngest of five scientists to investigate the explosion of Mount Pelee in Martinique, which leveled the entire city of St. Pierre and killed its entire population in two minutes.

Dangerous landslides. Collapsed buildings. Blazing fires. The violent shaking of earthquakes can cause a devastating amount of damage in a short time. Get an up-close look at how these catastrophes form and learn about some of history’s worst earthquakes.

In late April 1902, Mount Pelee, a volcano on the Caribbean island Martinique, began to wake up. It emitted clouds of ash and smoke for two weeks until violently erupting on May 8. Over 30,000 residents of St. Pierre were killed; they burned to death under rivers of hot lava and suffocated under pounds of hot ash. Only three people managed to survive: a prisoner trapped in a dungeon-like jail cell, a man on the outskirts of town, and a young girl found floating unconscious in a boat days later.

The rumbling ground could only mean one thing: an earthquake. Learn about where and how earthquakes form, how scientists predict them, how structures are built to withstand them, and more.

When Mount St. Helens began releasing steam, nearby residents were told to get off the mountain. One man decided not to, and he paid dearly for his decision. The Mount St. Helens Volcano is part of the non-fiction series "Disasters" that will engage listeners of all ages, including English Language Learners. These moments in history recall the death and destruction caused by both natural and manmade disasters around the world.

1816 was a remarkable year - mostly for the fact that there was no summer. As a result of a volcanic eruption at Mount Tambora in Indonesia, weather patterns were disrupted worldwide for months, allowing for excessive rain, frost, and snowfall through much of the Northeastern US and Europe in the summer of 1816.

An astonishing transformation over the last 20,000 years has seen our planet changed from a frigid wasteland into the temperate world within which our civilization has grown and thrived. This dynamic episode in our planet's history, right at the close of the Ice Age, saw not only a huge temperature hike but also the Earth's crust bouncing and bending in response to the melting of the great ice sheets and the filling of the ocean basins - dramatic geophysical events that triggered earthquakes, spawned tsunamis, and provoked a series of eruptions from the world's volcanoes.

Mention the word earthquake and most people think of California. But while the Golden State shakes on a regular basis, Washington State, Oregon, and British Columbia are located in a zone that can produce the world’s biggest earthquakes and tsunamis. In the eastern part of the continent, small cities and large, from Ottawa to Montréal to New York City, sit in active earthquake zones. In fact, more than 100-million North Americans live in active seismic zones, many of whom do not realize the risk to their community.

A journey around the United States in search of the truth about the threat of earthquakes leads to spine-tingling discoveries, unnerving experts, and ultimately the kind of preparations that will actually help guide us through disasters. It's a road trip full of surprises.

Earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, hurricanes, volcanoes - they stem from the same forces that give our planet life. Earthquakes give us natural springs; volcanoes produce fertile soil. It is only when these forces exceed our ability to withstand them that they become disasters. Together they have shaped our cities and their architecture; elevated leaders and toppled governments; influenced the way we think, feel, fight, unite, and pray. The history of natural disasters is a history of ourselves.

After an eight-hundred-year slumber, the volcanoes in Iceland’s most populated region are showing signs of life. Earthquakes dominate the headlines. Echoes of the devastating eruptions in the past stir unease in the people. Volcanologist Anna Arnardóttir has spent her entire life studying the volcanic powers under the earth’s crust, but even she cannot fathom the catastrophe at hand.

On May 12, 1924, a park forest ranger notices rocks out of place near the mouth of the Kilauea Volcano. On Sunday, May 18, the ground splits open - rocks, fire, and ash fill the sky, and those who chose not to evacuate are in a fight for their lives. Lucy Dillow, daughter of the local pastor, enjoys her days of ministering to Hawaii's friendly people and teaching their young in a simple one-room schoolhouse. When the order arrives to evacuate because of the uncertainty of the volcano, she decides to stay behind with her family in case they are needed, and to keep a journal of the volcano's activity.

Volcanic Fury is a thrilling nonfiction book that delves into the destructive power of volcanoes and their impact on human civilization. The book explores the science behind volcanic eruptions, the different types of volcanoes, and the devastating consequences of their explosive eruptions.

Over the past few years, devastating tsunamis off the coast of the Indian Ocean have killed hundreds of thousands of people. Even more alarmingly, scientists predict that these tsunamis, as well as a series of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, will be striking with even greater frequency and may eventually threaten Hawaii, California, and Oregon.

One early April morning in 1906, the people of San Francisco were jolted awake by a mammoth earthquake - one that registered 7.8 on the Richter scale. Not only was there major damage from the quake itself but broken gas lines sparked a fire that ravaged the city for days. More than 500 city blocks were destroyed, and more than 200,000 people were left homeless. But the city quickly managed to rebuild, rising from the ashes to become the major tourist destination it is today. Here's an exciting recount of an incredible disaster.

When disaster strikes, don't be left standing clueless. The Urban Survival Handbook is your comprehensive series of survival strategy tips and guides. When it comes to survival you'll need to protect not only yourself, but also property and loved ones around you. Preserving and replenishing is essential to getting out alive. Make sure you know exactly how to handle any disaster situation, otherwise the results may be fatal.