[Lijahsbubbe]

I was watching a program the other nite about the 1985 Ruiz volcano, where 25,000 perished. It seems authorities wanted a specific prediction of eruption before evacuating the town. The scientists said that volcanic eruptions are extremely hard to predict. They would need something akin to an MRI of the volcano to see the magma movement in order to say when the volcano would erupt.

Here's an interesting link of the most deadly eruptions.

http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/LivingWith/VolcanicFacts/deadly_eruptions.html

[oceanperch]

OMG I cannot imagine the frustration of the volcano experts in trying to make them understand it is not a predictable event.

Bad bad call.

[bd476]

Thanks for the link, Lijahsbubbe.

The volcanologists need access to the volcano to set up their equipment. They sometimes are just barely off and safely away from the volcano when it blows up.

An increase in earthquakes is often a sign of the volcanic lava and gasses breaking rock subsurface "finding" a way up to the surface. Mt. St. Helen's blew in 1980 right after a large quake. The quake did not cause it, but it definitely was a big warning. :-)