Brew: When looking at the sheer, raw, destructive
power of a volcano, the first image that comes to
mind is the fiery explosions and the burning lava.
But that may be a mistake.
As dangerous as the burning and the heat
and the lava can all be— and they are— there
are more dangerous elements of a volcano.
In fact, living in the shadow of the immense power
of a volcano can have greater, unseen dangers…
watching… waiting for you to be unprepared...
Pompeii. Once a thriving Roman city that became renowned
among vacationers nestled near the Bay of Naples.
In fact, it may have looked surprisingly familiar
back in the day, a top tourist destination amongst the
Roman elite with thriving businesses and streetside
food stands, just with more “forced servitude”.
And how do we know all of that?
For the exact same reason that Pompeii ceased to be.
A volcano.
In the year 79 Common Era, Mount Vesuvius erupted.
Pliny the Younger, who witnessed the scene from afar,
described the eruption as a great tree that “rose to a great
height on a sort of trunk and then split off into branches”.
As the ash fell and clogged the air, it became difficult
to breathe, taking the lives of thousands, burying their
bodies and the very city itself for hundreds of years.
And yet, this devastation left us with a
perfectly preserved example of Roman life,
teaching us much about this ancient civilization.
Ironically, the ash that was so destructive to the city
itself kept its buildings, effectively the skeleton of
Pompeii, preserved beneath them like a great fossil,
and while the bodies left in the streets decomposed
hundreds of years ago, the pockets that they left
behind were able to be filled with plaster, giving
us a freeze frame of the last moments of Roman life.
But what would happen if an eruption of this magnitude
were to happen these days, and how would people react?
Surely they wouldn’t just… stay
there, and Pom-pay the price, right?
Well, the answer to those questions lies just a
short distance from the coast of Tokyo, Japan.
Miyake-jima, or Miyake Island, is said to have beautiful,
lush nature and be an excellent place to vacation to
with its black sand beaches and tropical bird habitats.
It also happens to have a massive volcano at its center.
Incidentally, that volcano is responsible
for the black sand on Miyake-jima’s beaches.
There are many legends and myths involving Miyake-jima,
which can be found in the collection Miyake-yi, dating
its settlement back before or during the middle ages,
but despite that, we do know that it became a prison
island in the Edo era, the period between 1603 and 1868.
In its time as a penal colony, it housed some famous
Japanese figures, like the painter Hanabusa Itcho,
who was exiled to the island in 1698 for creating
caricatures of the Shogun - or military government.
Or Kabuki actor Ikushima Shingoro, who was
imprisoned after a forbidden affair he had with
Ejima, a highborn lady in the Shogun’s court.
Chill: Ohhh boy, a forbidden love affair!
How romantic.
Grill: How scandalous!
Why isn’t there a movie about this?
Chill: Or a play!
Brew: I mean, there is.
There have been a few.
Grill: Then why haven’t I heard about them?
Brew: Because they’re in Japanese.
Grill: Oh, that’d do it.
Brew: There was a western adaptation,
but they did take some liberties.
Luke: Aaaah
Spitshine: Luke Worm, in the yarn.
Well, I certainly hope you’re enjoying
the up close view of Fuji-san.
Luke: Huh, you know, I’ve always wanted
to take a vacation somewhere warmer.
Spitshine: Yes, and it’s about to get so much hotter.
You really thought you could stop
my marriage to the handmaiden, hmm?
Luke: Sho-Gonna.
Brew: Ah beans.
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Now then, let’s just switch this
on over and get back to the show.
Love Interest: Luke, thank goodness you’re alright.
I was certain I was going to lose you there.
Luke: I’ll admit, it got a little heated there for a minute.
Grill: Brew please, come on.
Brew: Oh, yes, rest of the episode, got it.
In the centuries since then, Miyakejima was built up as
a populated island that saw its height in population in
1955, at which point it was home to over 7,000 people.
Following the trend in mainland Japan, Miyakejima’s
population has since been aging, and steadily declining.
In 2000, the island was home to 3,845 people
with 29% of the population being elderly people.
Throughout those centuries have also been
a rich history of volcanic eruptions.
In fact, literature dates early eruptions back to as
early as the year 1085, Common Era, with more eruptions in...
(clears throat)
(inhaling)
1154, 1469, 1535, 1595, 1643, 1712 through 1714,
1763 through 1769, 1811, 1835, 1874, 1940, 1962, and 1983.
The most destructive recent eruptions were in 1940
and 1983, all of which came from “parasitic cones”,
or fissures that split from the main volcano.
The 1940 eruption saw lava flow that tragically
took the lives of 11 of the island’s inhabitants
and also formed a new hill via underwater eruptions.
1983 saw the destruction of 400 homes due to lava flow, and
also threw ash and rocks onto the Southeastern portion of
the island, though thankfully not enough to bury any cities.
But what about the hidden dangers of volcanoes?
While Pompeii is a good example, I think we can find
another example that’s a little more… contemporary.
Iceland, April 2010, Hanna Lara Andrews
is awoken at 2AM by a phone call.
Picking up the phone, she is informed by a
civil protection official that she has 20
minutes to take her family and evacuate.
Eyjafjallajokull—the very Icelandicly-named and
impossible for me to pronounce—glacier covered
mountain her farm sat at the base of, was erupting.
And if her family didn’t leave, they would be swept
away by the water melting from those very same
glaciers that decorated it just the night before.
But it wasn’t just meltwater that would endanger people.
The eruption of Eyjaf— I am not saying that again—spewed
smoke and ash into the sky, and for nearly a month
made air travel across Europe impossibly dangerous.
Grill: So you’re telling me one volcano
stopped flights across an entire CONTINENT?
Brew: Well, Europe’s really more of a subconti-
Grill: Brew, please.
Brew: Yes.
Yes it did.
In addition, over 800 people had to be evacuated as
the glacier meltwater flooded surrounding regions,
including a group of British schoolgirls on a school trip.
In areas under the smoke, the sky darkened to the
point where even car headlights barely made an impact,
and the Icelandic government advised covering your
mouth or wearing a gas mask to avoid breathing in ash.
And where [Eyjafjallajokull] spat out ash,
the volcano at the centre of Miyakejima
has a tendency to spew out a hidden danger.
In July of the year 2000, earthquakes and volcanic
eruptions rocked Miyakejima, and while lava and hot
gasses spewed forth from the main crater of Mount
Oyama, the parasitic cones dotting the island started
to release an invisible threat of their own: toxic gas.
Specifically, sulfur dioxide.
By September, an evacuation was declared and all of
Miyakejima’s 3,600 residents were forced to leave.
Many moved to Tokyo to live in temporary public housing, and
most of them were hopeful that they would soon move back home.
The volcano, however, had other plans.
Mount Oyama continued to release toxic gasses at such a
level that it took almost five years before their return.
Finally, on February 1, 2005 those willing to
return were given the go-ahead, but first they were
warned that the gas hadn’t gone away completely.
Returning meant living alongside gasses that could be fatal.
Understandably, not all of the island’s residents wanted
to return, and the population dropped from 3,800 to
3,200 in the course of the years spent as refugees.
As the islanders stepped foot on the island, ready
to return to their homes, Mount Oyama was still
spewing out between 10,000 and 20,000 tons of sulfur
dioxide a day, and while that’s certainly down from
its peak of over 70,000 tons per day in November
2000, it’s still what we would call, “way too much”.
Or, “enough to prevent flights there for 8 years.”
So yeah, you’re gonna need a gas mask.
Residents don’t have to wear gas masks all the
time, but they were required to keep them on hand
due to the fluctuating sulfur dioxide levels.
When those levels got too high, a siren would sound across
the island alerting everyone that it was time to mask up.
Regions downwind from the volcano were also
made off limits, and students were required to
wear gas masks on the way to and from school.
Gas masks can make breathing more difficult in those
with chronic lung disease, but certainly less than, you
know, choking on sulfur dioxide coming out of a volcano.
When inhaled, sulfur dioxide can cause long-term
respiratory issues like asthma after short-term
exposure, and can cause coughing, shortness of
breath, chest tightness, difficulty breathing, and
even life threatening buildup of fluid in your lungs.
Which is a fancy way of saying: Don’t breathe this.
In terms of health effects from living in close proximity
to a volcano actively spewing out gas, breathing difficulty,
coughing, throat irritation, headaches, and nasal irritation
were all found in a study conducted by staff at the
Department of Surgery of Jichi Medical University in Japan.
Interestingly, this study found that those inhabitants who
reported symptoms were on average 10 years younger than
those without - though it should also be mentioned that
individuals reporting symptoms had an average age of 60.
In terms of mental health, the study by Jichi
Medical University staff found anxiety in 51.1% of
respondents from the Ako region, and 41.7% in Tsubota.
Though, given that they had been made refugees, had damage to
their homes, and been left to rebuild their community while
aging and living around a volcano… I can’t say I’m surprised.
The inhabitants continued having to carry gas
masks at all times up to at least 2016, according
to online publication Yabai - though as per
Miyakejima’s website, sulfur dioxide levels have since
dropped to a level where it is no longer required.
Though, it is still recommended for
those sensitive to volcanic gas.
Life certainly hasn’t been easy for those from Miyakejima.
Between having to be evacuated, having their industries
damaged, dealing with an aging and shrinking population and
having to deal with the constant stress of toxic volcanic
gases, there are a lot of things to get stressed about.
However, a surprising new industry emerged
to help the island recover—tourism.
In fact, according to NASA in 2015, Miyakejima’s
main industries were fishing, farming, and tourism.
Grill: Even though there was an active volcano?
Brew: Partially because of it.
In addition to its beaches, hiking trails, and bird
watching spots, Miyakejima has guided sightseeing tours
in the abandoned parts of the island, with gas masks
available at the ferry to the island and tourist spots.
In fact, volcano tourism seems to be a common trend.
After the volcanic eruption in Iceland, in
the face of an economic downturn, the country
actually managed to beat their projections by
43%, making 184.8 million USD in tourism revenue.
By 2017, tourists outnumbered
residents of Iceland seven to one.
These days, when even Miyakejima has been hit with
Covid-19, it’s hard to say what the future has in store.
But if these volcanic tales have anything to
teach us, even when the smoke is thickest,
there are still ways to breathe easy.