This post is by Bernie Carr, apartmentprepper.com
Just a quick post today, about the news story you may have heard about: the New Zealand volcano eruption.
What happened?
The White Island volcano, about 30 miles from mainland New Zealand, situated in the Bay of Plenty. Described as a cone volcano, with only 30 percent of its mass above sea level, the White Island volcano is an active volcano. On Monday, Dec. 9, 2019, the volcano erupted while 47 tourists, most of them from a cruise ship, were visiting.
According to Fox News, 47 people were on the island at the time it erupted, most of them were passengers on a day trip from the Royal Caribbean Ovation of the Seas cruise ship.
As of this writing, 14 people were confirmed dead, two people are still missing and about 26 people were severely injured, including an American couple on their honeymoon. Many of the injured are severely burned.
Our hearts go out to the victims and their families.
What can we learn from this?
Nature can be dangerous
Don’t get me wrong, I love nature and appreciate being outside hiking, swimming or sight-seeing. But being out in nature has inherent dangers that we must always be aware of.
Be aware of your surroundings at all times
Even when you are on holiday, it is imperative you pay attention to your surroundings and prepare for the worst. I know it is not always the first thing you think about especially on vacation but anything can happen and sometimes they do.
Just because you can does not mean you should
If you do a search on visiting a live volcano, you will find many travel articles actually recommend visiting a live volcano. I know people who have visited Kilauea volcano in Hawaii and they turned out fine. However, we also know it has erupted recently and some people were injured. I also found that visitors have been hurt of killed in years past, such the five killed while visiting the Mayon volcano (known for its perfect code) in the Philippines a few years ago.
Consider the risks
I’ve been on a cruise before, and when you look at the shiny brochures with breathtaking photos of excursions being offered, it is easy to assume they are safe. When you’re on vacation, thinking about potential emergencies is usually the farthest thing from your mind. If the ship is offering these side trips, they must be safe, right?
But if you really think about walking along a live volcano, you’re taking a big risk. A live volcano can erupt at any moment and the White Volcano did. According to some reports, people actually brought kids to visit the live volcano.
>Families Brought CHILDREN To Active Volcano??!
It’s unfortunate that people got killed or badly hurt in this disaster. There has been a lot of criticism that tourists were allowed in the area, given the ongoing volcano activity. When planning any activities, there are always possible risks that must be given a lot of consideration.
