For your neurosis and/or trip planning needs

Just today I was exchanging email with a priest in England about my hopping over for a visit to Old Blighty and my friends there. 

Then I hear about nearly all flights canceled because of the Icelandic volcano….Eyja… Eyjaja… Eyafjallajokull.

Then I found this interesting story on Market Watch:

LONDON, Apr 15, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — A major eruption of Italy’s Mount Vesuvius could result in 8,000 fatalities, 13,000 serious injuries and total economic losses of more than $24 billion, according to a new study supported by the Willis Research Network (WRN) that puts Vesuvius at the top of the list of Europe’s 10 most dangerous volcanoes.

 

Ka-BLAM!

There is a handy list of dangerous volcanoes near tourist places for your neurosis and/or trip planning.

 

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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20 Comments

  1. Sedgwick says:

    Just wanted to interject that today is the Holy Father’s 83rd birthday!
    V. Let us pray for Benedict, our Pope.

    R. May the Lord preserve him, and give him life, and make him blessed upon the earth, and deliver him not up to the will of his enemies. [Ps 40:3]

    Our Father, Hail Mary.

    O God, Shepherd and Ruler of all Thy faithful people, look mercifully upon Thy servant Benedict, whom Thou hast chosen as shepherd to preside over Thy Church. Grant him, we beseech Thee, that by his word and example, he may edify those over whom he hath charge, so that together with the flock committed to him, may he attain everlasting life. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

  2. DominiSumus says:

    It was interesting to see that 3 of the volcanoes are in the Azores. Furnas is an awesome volcano which is used to this day as a place to cook food. The mineral water from the vents is some of the best in the world and has known healing properties.

    My father tells stories about Azorean volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.

  3. revs96 says:

    I’s interesting to see that all three azorean volcanoes are on my family’s native Sao Miguel. I’ve actually been to those volcanoes. It’s not really nerve-wracking for me as it is something to be proud of as an azorean. Just thinking of the islands makes me hungry for azorean food…luckily it’s almost lunchtime :D

  4. dominic says:

    Well, the English aristocracy on their “Grand Tours” of continental Europe in times past did use the expression “See Naples and die” for numerous reasons: but the threat of Vesuvius looming, threateningly, always nearly overhead, was certainly among them.

    I strongly suspect that this constant potentially enormous threat lends something to the…exceptionally individual (and staunchy, proudly Catholic, but also rather fatalistic) atmosphere of Naples, too. Is there any other major city in the Western world where the city’s patron saint’s blood liquifies (or is expected to) once a year, according to a schedule?

    And…I see the compilers of that list follow the French government (alone: well, with whosoever designed the Euro banknotes) as thinking, or more likely, pretending, that Guadeloupe is in Europe.

  5. revs96 says:

    Speaking of azorean food, Fr. Z, you should get out here to Fall River, MA and have a blognic at an azorean restaurant… The fact that we use a volcano as an oven is testimony to our love of food.

  6. irishgirl says:

    I didn’t know that Vesuvius was still an active volcano….

    I hope this Icelandic ash cloud will not cause problems for the Holy Father’s trip to Malta this weekend.

  7. Tim Ferguson says:

    Frequently, I feel downright safe in Detroit

  8. Yeah, I feel safe in the uppermidwest, as well.
    Is the earth, perhaps, “revolting” against all of the “revolting” happenings of late?
    I wonder.

  9. Thom says:

    No one can escape the Yellowstone Super Volcano, not even in the Midwest. :)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF-RKzqNtz0

  10. It’s always about that time, when it comes to earthquakes and volcanoes. Also, plate activity and seismic activity are tied together, to a certain extent.

    Shrug. Could be signs of the times, but there’s always wars, rumors of war, storms, et al. The earth having peaceful placidity is more amazing than a restless earth.

    Re: the name of the volcano place —

    “jokull” is glacier and “eyjafjalla” is mountain island.

    So Eyjafjallajokull is Mountisle Glacier. :)

    Apparently, the volcano has plenty of fluoride in it, so you Europeans are going to have really good teeth from now on. :)

  11. Well, it’s not really funny, because too much fluoride can poison animals. So Iceland may have some problems, it being more concentrated there.

  12. Thom: Duly noted:<)!

  13. Oh, and if you’ve ever seen the place name “Ireland’s Eye”, or all the English place names ending in -ey? That’s island as in eyja, also, just as fjalla is “fells” in English.

  14. edwardo3 says:

    Just wait until the New MAdrid fault goes. That will be a lot of fun for all of us in the Midwest.

    If you want to go to England Fr., call Cunard, they are running specials ont he transatlantic crossing.

  15. DominiSumus says:

    Rev96, speaking for food cooked by volcano, we even have restaurants named after it. Hmmm, now I want to go to Caldeiras for dinner. Fr. Z needs to come to Fall River and we can show him the joy of food.

  16. tioedong says:

    Ah, why worry? just visit the Philippines, and you can have it all: Typhoons, floods, mudslides, volcanoes, and Dengue Fever.

    Bahala Na!

  17. tioedong: You’re not exactly the “tourist advertiser” here, eh?:<)!
    No matter where you go, you gots to be prepared!

  18. J Kusske says:

    Just wait until Mt. Rainier or Mt. Fuji goes off again (last eruptions are 1894 and 1708 respectively). They didn’t become iconic symbols of their entire area visible for miles around for nothing… Another city built next to a very active volcano is Kagoshima in southernmost Kyushu, Japan. The entire bay is actually the caldera of a previous larger volcano that filled up with water, and the latest cone is a constantly smoking reminder that will often send falling ash onto the city. Heaven help them if Sakura Jima (the volcano’s name) ever does go off in a large way…

  19. catholicmidwest says:

    Well, you have to put your body someplace in order to keep going, and no place is completely safe. We have blizzards here and horrible driving in winter, and a few tornadoes in spring. That’s not too bad if you can take the cold.

  20. catholicmidwest says:

    PS, Michigan is ok. No palmetto bugs, big snakes, scorpions and all that claptrap. No malaria, dengue fever or ebola. No volcanoes and only one little jiggly earth tremor every few decades or so.

    Just SNOW, SNOW, ICE and SNOW–lots of it!

    [And a few coyotes and bears. And the worst run state government in the union which is our worst plague.]

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