20 Things I Learned in Disaster Movies

20 Things I Learned in Disaster Movies

(That actually turned out to be True)

1.  Volcanoes can boil lakes, just like in the tar pits in Volcano, it has been witnessed many times at The Boiling Lake in Dominica's Morne Trois Pitons National Park.

2.  If you're flying through extremely cold weather, the fuel in your lines CAN freeze- although not as quickly as in The Day After Tomorrow. It happened to a flight in 2008 traveling from China to London.

3.  Volcanic eruptions can cause bridges to be wiped out, just like in Dante's Peak. This is caused by lahars, which are caused by melting snow mixing with dirt causing mudslides. Here's a 2007 example.

4.  1000 foot tsunamis can happen, in fact one hit Alaska within the last hundred years. Here's a link to my 2012 article on it!

5.  You really should watch lava bombs to see where they're going, especially if they shoot up into the sky like in Volcano. Click here for a first hand account.

6.  Tornadoes can skip houses like in Twister, but it may be more of an optical illusion. Tornadoes 'skipping' houses.

7.  Volcanic activity can cause trees and wildlife to die, just like in Dante's Peak. Although it is not a 'foolproof' precursor.

8.  Cruise ships can be toppled by tsunamis and rouge waves like in 2012, it happened in 2010 in the Mediterranean Sea.

9.  Water supplies can become contaminated because of volcanic activity as seen in Dante's Peak. See here.


10.  Earthquakes can be precursors (and vice versa) for sinkholes, just like in the beginning of 2012. It happened in Louisiana this year.


11.  If you live near a volcano and the water or area around it smells like an initially lit matchstick or rotten eggs, it's sulfur! Don't drink it and send Pierce Brosnan a thank you card.

12.  Pay phones work longer in disasters because they draw they're power directly from the phone line, brought to you in part by The Day After Tomorrow.

13.  Volcanos can turn lakes into acid like in Dante's Peak, but it probably won't eat your boat- it happened during El Chincho's eruption in 1983.

14.  Giant hail like in 2012's Tokyo scene really does happen! See Here.

15. There aren't just tornadoes, there are also: sisters, waterspouts, fire whirls, dust devils, gustnadoes, landspouts and snownadoes. Thanks Helen Hunt!

16.  While an volcanic eruption can't be stopped, it's lava flows can be stopped and channeled. There have been several instances of this Volcano scene all over the world.

17.  The machines used in Twister, more accurately 'Dorothy' is a very real thing, and it didn't really work out too well just like in the movie!

18.  The human species can survive an ice age, just like in 2012 and The Colony. In fact we've already survived two.

19.  Never fly an aircraft during a volcanic eruption, you can crash just like in Dante's Peak. Here's an example from 1982.

20.  Those giant pyroclastic clouds from 2012 and Dante's Peak? Yup, they're real too.

Amy: Sometimes magma can find one of those fissures and rise up through it.
Roark: What's magma?
Rachel: Lava.
Roark: Lava? Right here in L.A?
Amy: It is one of the possibilities.
Roark: We have a history of that here in the downtown area?
Rachel: Paracutin... 1943, a Mexican farmer sees smoke coming out of the middle of his cornfield. A week later there's a volcano a thousand feet high. There's no history of anything until it happens. Then there is.

-Volcano

xoxo disaster girl

Alaska hit by 7.0 Earthquake, Volcanic Eruption in 24 Hours

ALASKA HIT BY 7.0 EARTHQUAKE,

VOLCANIC ERUPTION IN 24 HOURS

On Friday August 30th, 2013 Alaska was hit by both a large earthquake, and a large volcanic eruption. The eruption of the Veniaminof volcano on the Alaskan Peninsula sent ash more than three miles into the sky, while the 7.0 quake struck off shore Alaska, specifically near Adak Island. Although both the volcanic eruption and earthquake were tied to the same tectonic plate, at this time there is no direct link between the two. No FAA advisories or tsunami warnings were issued in either event, also no injuries or reports of damage have been reported thus far. Veniaminof volcano remains on ORANGE alert at the AVO (Alaska Volcano Observatory).

 

Via USGS

 USGS 7.0 ADAK, ALASKA REPORT
AVO VENIAMINOF ERUPTION REPORT 

Local Area Quake Plot

 

 

Veniaminof 24 HR Webicorder Feed

 
Hopefully she's done clearing her throat. 

xoxo disaster girl

Alternative Modes of Transportation: Part Two & Three Surviving a Volcanic Eruption/Massive Earthquakes

VOLCANOES, EARTHQUAKES & PLANES
OH MY
The Yellowstone Caldera is the world's largest Supervolcano and one can only speculate how devastating its eruption would be. Obviously the closer you live to Yellowstone, the lower your survival rates will be. I, on the other hand, live literally on the edge of the East Coast, so my survival rates are high- for the most part. Volcanoes are tricky, because they come with Pyroclastic flows AKA Ash Clouds. Avoiding a volcanic eruption is seemingly easy as long as you aren't anywhere near it.

Earthquakes are pretty easy to get around too, unless you live in California. If you do live in California- close this page & move the fuck out, this is my best and only suggestion. Hopefully you understand that you won't be John Cusack in "2012", you will most likely perish only to be remembered by your extremely tiny dog and the bank account you left behind. Anyways, methods to surviving earthquakes are fairly easy. Get off the Ground! Completely!

Volcanoes and Earthquakes are extremely different, but ironically your best way to avoid and escape these disasters are identical. You will have to act quick, and one can only guess what is quick enough. You will also need to prepare ahead of time, as this isn't something you can truly master without extensive practice.

 

Click Here to Look up Local Flight Schools

If Yellowstone blows, or we start experiencing Earth Crust Displacement (A Theory by Charles Hapgood, Supported by Albert Einstein), the only place you want to be is off the ground. Your best measure? Learn to fly. In Apocalyptic times, Martial law will be enacted, and small airports that aren't around anything will most likely be forgotten. Finders keepers I say, because chances are- the owner of that plane won't be coming around anytime soon. He's probably on some Military vehicle, thanking god that he's gonna make it out alive... Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.

If the apocalypse comes around and martial law is enacted, HIDE. Do not run to authorities. Martial law means ALL your liberties that you took for granted on a daily basis are null and void. You have no liberties. I don't know about you, but if I had no liberties or rights, the last place I'd want to be is on a Military base, begging for my one phone call.

So learn to fly, and learn everything you can about everything. This is the information age people, and you literally have the world at your fingertips. Use the internet to research what's going on in the world. Use it to map seismic faults. Use it to learn which Volcanoes are active, and which are overdue for an eruption. Use it to enlighten yourself, instead of further dumbing yourself down. Stop watching MTV shows, and do something constructive with your time. "Teen Mom - Amber" and "Snookie" from the "Jersey Shore" won't be your tour guides in the apocalypse, you will be. You won't trust yourself if all you're worrying about is if your poof is high enough.

P.F.S. I don't really trust American media, so when push comes to shove, check the U.K. news outlets like B.B.C., they have no reason to lie to you after all. I'm paraphrasing this only because I can't find the actual quote, Henry Burke (Ciaran Hinds) in Race to Witch Mountain says something to the effect of this: Why would the American Government take out the Conspiracists when they're correct? Doing so would only make the American people believe what they were saying.

P.P.F.S. No vehicle works when ash is falling, so make sure you get the hell out of there before it shows its ugly face.

xoxo disaster girl