What Happened When Mount Vesuvius Erupted?
Artist Impressions of the 79 AD Eruption
What Happened When Mount Vesuvius Erupted?
Initially, there was a large earthquake that struck Italy in 64 AD. And more specifically, the epicentre of the earthquake was right below Mt Vesuvius, a highly active volcano located in the Bay of Naples. Although the earthquake was 15 years before the deadly eruption, it was the earthquake to cause the magma to rise through the cracks in the plates during the pressure release. The magma stayed inside the Volcano, “boiling”, for 15 years before the major eruption.
The eruption lasted 25 hours. The morning of the 24th of August 79 AD, a large cloud was noticed emerging from the volcano. From across the bay, a man and his son (Pliny the Elder and The Younger) witnessed the eruption and wrote down what they saw. They saw pelting hot rocks flying from the mountain, people climbing through waves of ash, smoke, pumice and rock trying to escape. According to the Pliny’s accounts, around 2000 Pompeiians survived the initial eruption, but it was the second more powerful eruption the morning after that killed everyone in an instant.
The eruption lasted 25 hours. The morning of the 24th of August 79 AD, a large cloud was noticed emerging from the volcano. From across the bay, a man and his son (Pliny the Elder and The Younger) witnessed the eruption and wrote down what they saw. They saw pelting hot rocks flying from the mountain, people climbing through waves of ash, smoke, pumice and rock trying to escape. According to the Pliny’s accounts, around 2000 Pompeiians survived the initial eruption, but it was the second more powerful eruption the morning after that killed everyone in an instant.
How Severe Where the Consequences of the Event?
The consequences of the 79 AD Mt Vesuvius eruption were quite severe.
It is estimated that 13,000 people died from it. People didn’t just die from being burnt alive, they were killed through toxic gases in the air from the volcano. These gases included sulphur dioxide, hydrogen sulphide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen chloride and hydrogen fluoride, which are all highly deadly gases. They can lead to burning (on skin, in throat, nose, lungs and eyes), unconsciousness, dizziness, nausea and death. When the ash in the sky mixed with the rain, it formed a concrete like substance when dried (why the surrounding areas were so well preserved), the people of the surrounding region were consumed by the concrete and died. Whole towns were consumed by the ‘concrete’ and the lava streaming down the mountain. These towns were lost for centuries, the people forgotten and the land built over. The mountain was somewhat destroyed from the explosion, half of it when streaming down in a landslide and the top was blown off leaving a large crater.
It is estimated that 13,000 people died from it. People didn’t just die from being burnt alive, they were killed through toxic gases in the air from the volcano. These gases included sulphur dioxide, hydrogen sulphide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen chloride and hydrogen fluoride, which are all highly deadly gases. They can lead to burning (on skin, in throat, nose, lungs and eyes), unconsciousness, dizziness, nausea and death. When the ash in the sky mixed with the rain, it formed a concrete like substance when dried (why the surrounding areas were so well preserved), the people of the surrounding region were consumed by the concrete and died. Whole towns were consumed by the ‘concrete’ and the lava streaming down the mountain. These towns were lost for centuries, the people forgotten and the land built over. The mountain was somewhat destroyed from the explosion, half of it when streaming down in a landslide and the top was blown off leaving a large crater.