Many people depend on volcanoes for their survival.
The geothermal energy of a volcano can power technological
systems for nearby communities. Soil near active volcanoes is
often rich in mineral deposits and provides excellent farming
opportunities. Lots of people visit volcanoes each year, so jobs
often pop up nearby in hotels, restaurants, gift shops, and as tour
guides. And some people simply do not have the financial
resources to move. Many residents of the area around Kilauea may also think
it’s worth the risk, given the beauty, community, and remoteness
of Hawaii. Volcanoes also tend to give notice that something is
about to happen—Kilauea’s small earthquakes, increasing
amounts of lava at the summit, and a change in the slope of the
volcano all indicated in recent weeks that an eruption may
happen soon. This isn’t necessarily the case in other parts of the
world, where earthquakes, tornadoes, fires, and floods can spring
up without warning.
The evacuation of nearby communities because of
Kilauea’s eruption isn’t the only instance in recent months of
people leaving their homes to get out of the path of an erupting
volcano. When Mount Mayon in the Philippines began spewing
ash into the air in January, tens of thousands of people needed to
evacuate. Over 100,000 people in northeast Bali were evacuated
in November when Indonesia’s Mount Agung began rumbling,
and thousands of tourists also fled.
【題組】49. How are volcanoes different from other natural disasters?
(A) They give a warning before eruption.
(B) They are less disastrous.
(C) More people die from volcanoes.
(D) They happen abruptly.