Tag Archive for ‘Vulnerability’

Bang – Crash! How the Icelandic Volcano Caused Chaos

On 14th April 2010, Eyjafjallajökull, a volcano in southern Iceland, began to erupt explosively. The eruption was not particularly powerful – ordinarily it would have only attracted the attention of those living nearby, along with a few volcanologists! However, on this occasion, the type of explosion combined with unusual weather conditions led to an unprecedented, total closure of the airspace over northern Europe and the North Atlantic. During the 6-day closure, 100,000 flights were cancelled and 10 million passengers left unable to travel.