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Case Study:

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Pompeii

The Roman Empire reigned over a large part of the world from 625 B.C until its fall in 476 A.D. Pompeii was a town located in what we now call Italy. It was a part of the Roman Empire when the infamous volcanic eruption took place in 79 A.D.

Looming over the ancient town of Pompeii was Mount Vesuvius. Unfortunately, the people of Pompeii were unaware of the danger Mount Vesuvius posed to them.

In fact, they didn't even know what a volcano was nor did they have a word for 'volcano' in their language of Latin.

For months, the people of Ancient Pompeii had been feeling tremors. They didn't think much of them and continued on with their lives as normal.

We now know today that these tremors were earthquakes. In this particular instance, the earthquakes were signs of activity in Mount Vesuvius. Mount Vesuvius was ready to erupt.

Shortly after midday on August 24, 79 A.D., Mount Vesuvius erupted.

Due to the town's close proximity to Mount Vesuvius, Pompeii was showered with volcanic debris. This debris consisted of boiling hot rocks, ash and molten lava.

The following day brought even more destruction. On August 25, 79 A.D., volcanic ash clouds of blistering hot gases and lava flow covered the town. Buildings were destroyed and the people of Pompeii were unable to escape the incoming damage. It is believed that between 10,000 to 20,000 people died that day as a result of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.