Residential building and occupant vulnerability to pyroclastic density currents in explosive eruptions

Abstract. A major hazard during the eruption of explosive volcanoes is the formation of pyroclastic density currents (PDCs). Casualties and physical building damage from PDCs are caused by the temperature, pressure, and particle load of the flow. This paper examines the vulnerability of buildings and occupants to the forces imposed by PDCs along with associated infiltration of PDC particle and gas mixtures into an intact building. New studies are presented of building and occupant vulnerability with respect to temperature, pressure, and ash concentration. Initial mitigation recommendations are provided.

[1]  James R. McDonald,et al.  STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF TORNADO-GENERATED WOOD MISSILES , 2000 .

[2]  P. Baxter,et al.  Herculaneum victims of Vesuvius in ad 79 , 2001, Nature.

[3]  Peter J. Baxter,et al.  Medical effects of volcanic eruptions , 1990 .

[4]  A. Neri,et al.  Pyroclastic flow hazard assessment at Vesuvius (Italy) by using numerical modeling. I. Large-scale dynamics , 2002 .

[5]  A. Ciarallo,et al.  Impact of the AD 79 explosive eruption on Pompeii, II. Causes of death of the inhabitants inferred by stratigraphic analysis and areal distribution of the human casualties , 2003 .

[6]  G. Zuccaro,et al.  Structural resistance of reinforced concrete buildings under pyroclastic flows: a study of the Vesuvian area , 2004 .

[7]  L. Lirer,et al.  A methodology for the evaluation of long-term volcanic risk from pyroclastic flows in Campi Flegrei (Italy) , 2002 .

[8]  A. Neri,et al.  The impacts of pyroclastic surges on buildings at the eruption of the Soufrière Hills volcano, Montserrat , 2005 .

[9]  Robin Spence,et al.  Building vulnerability and human casualty estimation for a pyroclastic flow: a model and its application to Vesuvius , 2004 .

[10]  Robin Spence,et al.  Resistance of Buildings to Pyroclastic Flows: Analytical and Experimental Studies and Their Application to Vesuvius , 2004 .

[11]  Domenico Ianniello,et al.  Interaction of pyroclastic flows with building structures in an urban settlement: a fluid-dynamic simulation impact model , 2004 .

[12]  Robin Spence,et al.  Modelling expected physical impacts and human casualties from explosive volcanic eruptions , 2005 .

[13]  I. Kelman,et al.  Residential building and occupant vulnerability to tephra fall , 2005 .

[14]  D. Reay,et al.  Deaths during the May 18, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens. , 1981, The New England journal of medicine.

[15]  R. Blong.  Volcanic Hazards: A Sourcebook on the Effects of Eruptions , 1984 .

[16]  R. Blong,et al.  Volcano Fatalities--Lessons from the Historical Record , 2001, Science.