No one saw this coming – a volcanic eruption in Iceland forcing the closure of airspace over Europe, effecting air travel and cargo delivery for one-third of the globe.
The volcanic eruption is no surprise – seismic activity started at the glacier site in southern Iceland near the end of 2009. But nobody expected the April 14th eruption to result in a week’s worth of total and partial closure of airspace over much of Europe. A spokesman for the International Air Transport Association has complained that the ash-spewing volcano 1300 km west of the UK, will have a greater impact on air travel than that resulting from 9/11.
The numbers are staggering: 28,000 flights cancelled daily; 30 countries with closed or restricted airspace; $200 million in daily lost revenue to the airline industry; 17,000 meter altitude reached by the ash cloud.
But, according to a recent study by Willis Research Network, Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull is not even in the top 10 global volcanic threats.
The study suggests that an eruption from Mount Vesuvius in Italy has the potential for 8,000 fatalities, seriously injuring 13,000 more and resulting in total economic losses of more than $24 billion.
The next largest threats are:
| Volcano | Country | Affected Population |
| #2 – Campi Flegrei | Italy | 144,000 |
| #3 – La Soufriére Guadeloupe | France | 94,000 |
| #4 – Etna | Italy | 71,000 |
So far the largest catastrophic threats of the 21st century have come from terrorist attacks, tsunamis, hurricanes and earthquakes. This Eyjafjallajökull eruption has not yet caused significant loss of life.
But this latest event reminds us how fragile our global infrastructure is – how do we competently manage risk for global events that were not foreseen??
One more thing to worry about.
*Willis Research Network http://bit.ly/9FQii5