Some of you guys are alright, don't go to Pompeii tomorrow.
But seriously, why did they live next to a volcano, and how did they not see it coming?
>>492044
You underestimate how stupid people were back then
Seriously, why is Tokyo and countless other cities built in the vicinity of a volcano, and how do they not see it coming?
Why do so many people live along the tectonic fault lines around the Pacific, don't they see it coming?
How some so many people live in tornado alley, aren't they seeing it coming?
Why do people still live in the south where hurricanes and flooding strikes every year? Can they see it at all?
>>492120
is anywhere safe?
>>492140
No
>>492044
volcanis ash was part of roman industry
they used in concrete i think
>>492140
The Great Lakes.
>>492044
They still do
Why do you think the Romans knew what a volcano was? They took Pompeii from the Samnites and farmed its very fertile soil
Volcanic soil is very, very fertile.
Let's keep our example in Italy, specifically the South.
The soil here is generally poor in nutrients and the basement rock consists of hard limestone, making agriculture difficult.
The region of Naples, however, which is close to Mt. Vesuvius, is very rich because of volcanic eruptions from over 10.000 years ago.
Because this soil is so fertile, it's easy to cultivate the lands and this naturally attracts people (e.g. the fertile crescent).
You might be thinking it's insane to live on such a lava spewing titan, but volcanoes rarely erupt, especially if you keep the Gods happy.
Even if a volcano has the possibility to erupt, it still might be a worthwhile trade, a risk vs reward, if you will.
Some (slightly dated) sauces:
Fisher, R.V., Heiken, G., and Hulen, J.B., 1997, Volcanoes; Crucibles of Change. Princeton, Princeton University Press.
Molloy, L., 1993. Soils in the New Zealand Landscape-The Living Mantle. New Zealand Society of Soil Science, Canterbury.
Sheets, P. D. and Grayson, D. K. (editors), 1979. Volcanic Activity and Human Ecology. New York, Academic Press. Copyright (C) 1997, by Richard V. Fisher. All rights reserved.
>>492120
>Why do people still live in the south where hurricanes and flooding strikes every year?
Always bothers me, seeing shit like that. At least a volcano eruption is somewhat rare. These people get their shit rekt EVERY YEAR. The farmers there are acceptable, but very little else.
>>492046
>>492120
>What could go wrong?
>>492620
Or this.
You can actually spot where the most recent rockslide occured: it's the broken yellow patch and the empty lot below it.
>>492140
The UK is pretty safe, not close to any plate edges, no Volcanos the closest active is I think Iceland? There sea surrounding it never really floods, only of rare occasion. (Yes I know there is current flooding within the North of England)
>>492044
Because they didn't into geoscience and yeah, like the other guy said: fertile soil.
Also, I can't remember exactly, but in Africa, some geyser under a lake exploded and spurted a shit load of noxious gas that suffocated something like 1000 Africans in the village next to the lake. And it was as recent as the fucking 1990's or 80's when we had the modern science to tell 'em to get the fuck out there even if the soil was very fertile.
Could somebody who remembers where and when that was please post the wiki link?
>>492044
As previously mentioned, the volcanic soil is very fertile.
And the volcano (Vesuvius) had been inactive/dormant (don't know the geological term) so long, there existed no record of it being active, unlike Etna on Sicily. There was likely noone in the area who understood the signs before the eruption.
On a side note, Robert Harris wrote a decent historical fiction novel about it.
>>492140
>is anywhere safe?
The American Dakotas are, I believe. Not twister-territory, no tectonic plates, no chance of overflowing lakes and pretty safe from worst-case Waterworld-scenarios.
>>492673
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Nyos#1986_disaster
>1,700 people dead and it doesn't even get it's own wikipedia article
>>492140
I live in Hungary and its pretty safe. No tornados, earthquakes and the closest active volcanos are like 1000kms away. Floods rarely happen and they are small on scale.
There are lots of places safe from natural disasters.
>>492925
>>492673
this
pic related is at about 2000m in the middle of october (admittedly near the equator), volcanic soil is the shit
