18-7 GEOLOGY AND VACATIONS: RISK FROM NATURAL HAZARDS

Session: Shaping a Sustainable Future with Geology in the Twenty-First Century: Geology and Society Division Turns 22

Presenting Author:

Author:

Abstract:

There is a potential risk of Natural Hazards becoming Natural Disasters in some vacation areas.  This author uses the following examples: (1) The eruption of the White Island Volcano in December of 2019. This eruption resulted in the deaths of 22 tourists. A severely injured tourist, who survived this eruptive event, indicated he wouldn’t  have attended this excursion to an active volcano if he had he known about the risk. (2) Recently, flash flooding on the Guadalupe river in Texas resulted in the deaths of over 100 people. Many were in cabins or recreational vehicles along the river. (3) There is a potential tsunami hazard in Puerto Rico and Seward Alaska as evidenced by signage for tsunami evacuation routes.  Puerto Rico, a popular vacation spot, experienced a tsunami in 1918 as a result of a 7.5 magnitude earthquake where hundreds of residents died and buildings were destroyed in this Natural Disaster. (4) The December 26, 2004  Mw 9.1 Indian Ocean earthquake that generated a tsunami resulting in over 228,000 deaths including over 8000 in Thailand.

There are many more examples of Natural Hazards becoming Natural Disasters. This author, as a professor, who teaches a Natural Hazard and Disaster course tells his students on the first day of class “ This course can save your life”. The GSA Position Statement on “Improving Natural Hazards Policies and Response Through Geoscience “emphasizes the crucial role of geoscience education and outreach in broadening the public’s understanding of their risk from natural hazards and their options to reduce risk”. As geologists it is up to us in getting the word out.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Program. Vol. 57, No. 6, 2025

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-9143

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