Before

 Assembling an emergency preparedness kit.

 Creating a household evacuation plan that includes your pets.
 Staying informed about your community’s risk and response plans.

Family:

 Talk about volcanoes with your family so that everyone knows what to do in case of a volcanic eruption.
Discussing ahead of time helps reduce fear, particularly for younger children.
 Make sure you have access to NOAA radio broadcasts.
 Keep handy a pair of goggles and a dust mask for each member of your household in case of ashfall.
 Make a list of items to bring inside in the event of ashfall.

During

 Listen to a local station on a portable, battery-operated radio or television for updated emergency
information and instructions. Local officials will give the most appropriate advice for your particular
situation.
 Follow any evacuation orders issued by authorities, and put your emergency plan into action. Although it
may seem safe to stay at home and wait out an eruption, if you are in a hazard zone, doing so could be very
dangerous.
 If indoors, close all window, doors, and dampers to keep volcanic ash from entering.
 Put all machinery inside a garage or barn to protect it from volcanic ash. If buildings are not available, cover
machinery with large tarps.
 Bring animals and livestock into closed shelters to protect them from breathing volcanic ash.

If You Are Outdoors:

 Seek shelter indoors if possible.

 Stay out of designated restricted zones. Effects of a volcanic eruption can be experienced many miles from a
volcano.
 Avoid low-lying areas, areas downwind of the volcano, and river valleys downstream of the volcano. Debris
and ash will be carried by wind and gravity. Stay in areas where you will not be further exposed to volcanic
eruption hazards. Trying to watch an erupting volcano up close is a deadly idea.

If You Are Caught in an Ashfall:

 Wear a dust mask designed to protect against lung irritation from small particles.
 Protect your eyes by wearing goggles. Wear eyeglasses, not contact lenses.
 Keep as much of your skin covered as possible.

After

 Let friends and family know you’re safe.

 If evacuated, return only when authorities say it is safe to do so.
 Continue listening to local news or a Radio for updated information and instructions.
 If people around you are injured, practice CHECK, CALL, CARE. Check the scene to be sure it’s safe for you
to approach, Call for help, and if you are trained, provide first aid to those in need until emergency
responders can arrive.
 Caring for yourself & loved ones
 Stay indoors and away from volcanic ashfall areas if possible. The fine, glassy particles of volcanic ash can
increase the health risks for children and people with respiratory conditions, such as asthma, chronic
bronchitis, or emphysema.
 Whether you are indoors or outdoors:
 Wear a dust mask designed to protect against lung irritation from small particles
 Protect your eyes by wearing goggles. Wear eyeglasses, not contact lenses.
  Keep as much of your skin covered as possible.
 Take time to ensure your emotional recovery.
 Keep animals away from ashfall and areas of possible hot spots. Wash animals’ paws and fur or skin to
prevent their ingesting or inhaling ash while grooming themselves.
 Help people who require additional assistance—infants, elderly people, those without transportation, large
families who may need additional help in an emergency situation, people with disabilities, and the people
who care for them.
 Returning home safely
 Avoid driving in heavy ashfall. Driving will stir up volcanic ash that can clog engines and stall vehicles.
Abrasion can damage moving parts, including bearings, brakes, and transmissions.
 Cleaning and repairing your home
 Wear protective clothing, including long pants, a long-sleeved shirt and sturdy shoes, and be cautious.
 As soon as it is safe to do so, clear your roof of ashfall. Ash is very heavy and can cause buildings to collapse,
especially if made wet by rain. Exercise great caution when working on a roof.
 Learn more about how to clean up after a volcano, including the supplies you’ll need and how to handle fire
hazards such as gas, electricity and chemicals.

Facts

 Volcanoes generally experience a period of closely spaced eruptions followed by long periods of quiet. Most
volcanoes show no regularity, and thus on the basis of past history alone cannot be considered "overdue"
or "ready to blow."
 Volcanoes usually give warning signs that they are going to erupt weeks to months or more in advance.
Although we cannot predict when a volcano will start to be restless, once activity begins, scientists can
make general forecasts about how soon an eruption will occur. A more difficult challenge for volcanologists
is forecasting the size of an impending eruption.
 Earthquakes indicate a geologically active landscape, but they are not the cause of volcanic eruptions. In
rare cases, large tectonic earthquakes have triggered eruptions of nearby volcanoes that have been poised
to erupt anyway. In the case of Mount St. Helens, a flurry of earthquakes under the volcano suggested
potential eruptive activity.

Here are precautionary measures before volcanic eruptions:

1. Each one should be aware of the dangers that volcanic eruptions pose to lives and be prepared to face
whatever circumstances the eruption may bring.

2. Prepare all necessary things to bring once evacuation is needed. Those in danger zones are warned when
to evacuate. Once given the signal refrain from saying you will be all right. Refusing to evacuate will pose more
serious problems.

3. Store as much food, water, light sources and batteries that are very useful in case of emergency.

4. Volcanic eruptions have ash falls so be prepared for masks or anything to cover nose and mouth.

5. Prioritize the safety of kids before other things. If you have relatives or friends who are far from the
volcano, take your children there until such time that your place is safe.

Here are precautionary measures during volcanic eruptions:

1. Avoid all low-lying places because lava flows and mudflows are more likely to pass here.

2. Seek cover in case of ash falls rock falls.

 3. Use masks and cover your mouth and nose to avoid breathing in ashes.

4. If you are inside a house; close all doors and windows to avoid ashes from getting inside.

5. Always stay indoors.

6. Stay in the evacuation center until further instructions. Do not attempt to leave the place unless told to
do.

7. Keep a watchful eye on the kids because they might be tempted to go out and see what’s going on
outside.

Here are precautionary measures after volcanic eruptions:

1. Go back to your house but leave the kids behind someone who can take care of them while you check
your house.

2. Clean everything around and check all damages incurred.

3. Use masks while cleaning ash and other debris.

4. Wait for further announcements related to the volcano activities.

5. Make sure that your house is still safe for all of you.

Volcanic eruptions could be handled easier than earthquakes because there are early signs before the actual
eruption so you are already prepared at the time of eruption. Always take precautionary measures in order to
avoid serious problems.

FACTS

 A volcano is a mountain that opens downward to a pool of molten rock below the surface of the earth.
When pressure builds up, eruptions occur.
 In an eruption, gases and rock shoot up through the opening and spill over or fill the air with lava
fragments. Eruptions can cause lava flows, hot ash flows, mudslides, avalanches, falling ash and floods.
 The danger area around a volcano covers about a 20-mile radius.
 Fresh volcanic ash, made of pulverized rock, can be harsh, acidic, gritty, glassy and smelly. The ash can
cause damage to the lungs of older people, babies and people with respiratory problems.
 Volcanic lightning occurs mostly within the cloud of ash during an eruption, and is created by the friction of
the ash rushing to the surface. Roughly 200 accounts of this lightning have been witnessed live.
 An erupting volcano can trigger tsunamis, flash floods, earthquakes, mudflows and rockfalls.
 More than 80% of the earth's surface is volcanic in origin. The sea floor and some mountains were formed
by countless volcanic eruptions. Gaseous emissions from volcano formed the earth's atmosphere.
 There are more than 500 active volcanoes in the world. More than half of these volcanoes are part of the
"Ring of Fire," a region that encircles the Pacific Ocean.
 Active volcanoes in the U.S. are found mainly in Hawaii, Alaska, California, Oregon and Washington, but the
greatest chance of eruptions near areas where many people live is in Hawaii and Alaska.
 The sound of an eruption volcano can be quiet and hissing or explosive and booming. The loud cracks
travel hundreds of miles and do the most damage, including hearing loss and broken glass.
 The most deadly eruptions have occurred in Indonesia, with tens of thousands of lives lost to starvation,
tsunami (as a result of the eruption), ash flows, and mudflows.
Volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and
gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.

Eruption is an explosion of steam and lava from a volcano. This word is also used for other explosions, such as
"an eruption of emotions." If there's an eruptionof a volcano, you don't want to be anywhere near it. When a
volcano erupts, it spews a huge amount of lava, ash, and steam into the air.

Magma hot fluid or semifluid material below or within the earth's crust from which lava and other igneous rock is
formed by cooling.

Lava is molten rock generated by geothermal energy and expelled through fractures in planetary crust or in an
eruption, usually at temperatures from 700 to 1,200 °C.

Ash is fine particles of pulverized rock that are blown from an explosion vent. Measuring less than one-tenth of an
inch in diameter, ash may be either solid or molten when first erupted. Ash is extremely abrasive, similar to finely
crushed window glass, mildly corrosive, and electrically conductive, especially when wet.

Fumerole is a crack from which volcanic gases, mostly water vapor, escape into the atmosphere.

Lahar is a mudslide caused by the mixing of volcanic ash and debris with water. A lahar, usually caused by heavy
rainfall after an eruption, looks like a mass of wet concrete carrying rocks that range in size from gravel to
boulders 30 yards in diameter. A lahar can also be triggered during an eruption by the quick melting of snow or the
ejection of water from a crater lake.

Dormant volcano is the term used to describe a volcano that is "sleeping," or presently inactive, but may erupt
again.

Extinct volcano is a volcano that is not presently erupting and is not likely to do so for a very long time in the
future.