Building communities on top of old mudflows (photo below) was never a good idea.
But the housing was needed, so permitting officials allowed it; and there was money to be made, so developers build it.
If the mountain abruptly erupts, many people will die (read story here). But it’s closely monitored by volcanologists, and moving magma causes earth tremors, so there probably would be advance warning, and only those who failed to heed the warnings and refused to evacuate would lose their lives.
There would be plenty of them. That’s what happened before the Mt. St. Helens eruption: People wouldn’t believe the scientists, refused to leave the red zone, even snuck back in. When that volcano blew, several dozen died.
Human beings are very good at being stubborn, disbelieving plain facts, and throwing caution to the wind. Human nature being what it is, it’s surprising our species has survived this long.
