DISASTER

MANAGEMENT
WILDFIRES AND VOLCANOES

MANVIE ANUSHKA SAKSHI BHATT RISHIKA PRATIBHA ARSHI

 WILDFIRES
INTRODUCTION

• The most common hazard in forests is Wildfires. They pose

a threat not only to the forest wealth but also to the entire
regime to flora and fauna seriously disturbing the bio-
diversity, the ecology ant the environment of the region.

• Wildfires causes imbalances in nature and endangers

biodiversity by reducing faunal an floral wealth. Traditional
methods of fire prevention are not proving effective and it
is now essential to raise public awareness on the matter,
particularly on those people who live close to or in forested
areas.

• During summers when there is no rain for months, the

forests become littered with dry senescent leaves , which
could burst into flames ignited by the slightest spark.
 WHAT IS A WILDFIRE AND ITS TYPES

Wildfire, also called forest, bush or vegetation fire, can be

described as any uncontrolled and non-prescribed
combustion or burning of plants in a natural setting such
as a forest, grassland, brush land or tundra, which
consumes the natural fuels and spreads based on
environmental conditions (e.g., wind, topography)
 Wildfire can be incited by human actions, such as land
clearing, extreme drought or in rare cases by lightning

Types
 VOLCANIC ERRUPTION :
CASE STUDY

India’s only active volcano, the Barren Island volcano, in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, has
begun to spew lava and ash.

According to a statement issued by the Press Information Bureau on Friday, quoting an account of
the NIO research team which was in the vicinity of the volcano on January 23, the volcano emitted
red lava fountains and samples of volcanic ash have been collected for testing and research.

The statement said, 'The team moved about one mile from the volcano, which is located on an
uninhibited island, and began closely observing it. The volcano was erupting in small episodes
lasting about five to 10 minutes. During the daytime only ash clouds were observed’.

It added that after sundown, however, the team observed that the red lava fountains spewing from
the crater into the atmosphere and hot lava flows streaming down the slopes of the volcano.

The volcanic eruption was first evidenced on September 25 and the satellite images confirmed the
spewing of lava or pyroclastic material and ash on the north flank of the island,” TOI reported,
quoting the Geological Survey of India (GSI) officials as saying.
“There have been many instances of volcanic eruptions which were preceded by mild intensity
earthquakes. The source of trigger may be the same as the location of Sulawesi Island, which was hit by
earthquake recently, is not very far away,” the officials further said.

The GSI, however, did not deny that it could just be a coincidence and the two may be separate and
simultaneous events and the source may be different.

What more. Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad, a
government agency that monitors earthquakes and releases bulletins, have recorded magnitude between
4.3 and 4.9 in the Indonesian region of Southeast Asia in the days preceding the volcanic eruption from
the Barren Island.

“The entire zone is tectonically quite active. As a matter of fact, Indian plate is subducting below
Burma plate and the Indonesian plate is subducting under the Australian plate. The oceanic crust melt
and migrates upwards until it erupts when the subduction is continuous,” Pal further explained, as for a
possible cause of the eruption recorded in September end.

The GSI official said the 2005 eruption occurred almost a year after the 2004 tsunami that was
triggered by an earthquake in Indonesia.

As per an Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) study, scientists have concluded the volcanic
spewing that occurred in 2017 was a continuation of the eruption that took place in 2005. Scientists
used satellite data to understand the changes in the volcanic region in terms of shape, area and path of
lava flows between the years 2005 and 2017.