August 29th started just like any other day . . .
Pompeii, August 29, 79. The day begins with a slight rumbling coming from Mt. Vesuvius and things just get buried from there, literally. By the end of the day nothing visible remained of Pompeii or neighboring Herculaneum. Since its (re)discovery in 1599 historians and tourists alike have been fascinated by the former Roman tourist town.
Buried by tons of volcanic ash, and thereby preserved, tourists can now walk the streets past houses, shops, baths, aqueducts, amphitheaters, and villas. Pompeii was home to the rich and famous where one could see Kimbius Kardashius and her favorite senators and gladiators as they strolled the walkways and gardens enjoying beautiful weather, great outdoor sports and entertainment, sumptuous feasts, and delicate wines.
This video depicting the destruction of Pompeii was produced in conjunction with an exhibit called "A Day in Pompeii, held at the Melbourne Museum in 2009, [which] gave its more than 330,000 visitors a chance to experience Pompeii’s life even more vividly," especially on that fateful day in August.
Did anyone survive the volcanic eruption? We know Pliny the Younger did:
You could hear the shrieks of women, the wailing of infants, and the shouting of men; some were calling their parents, others their children or their wives, trying to recognize them by their voices. People bewailed their own fate or that of their relatives, and there were some who prayed for death in their terror of dying. Many besought the aid of the gods, but still more imagined there were no gods left, and that the universe was plunged into eternal darkness for evermore.Living in the Bay Area, we don't have to worry about any active volcanoes, but we do get earthquakes. Are you ready for the next big shake? Do you have a plan to make contact with friends and loved ones? What is in your earthquake preparedness kit?
Well, whenever there would be an earthquake, I would work with my family in finding a way to get us to safety, and my family and I would each carry a big having some fresh food and water in it for survival, since we may have to stay in one location until the earthquake ends depending on how long it will take for the earthquake to end. I would advise my other family members, relatives, and friends nearby to do the same thing as well.
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ReplyDeleteI know that earthquakes are a big deal in California but I never really gave it a big thought of what to do in an event of a big earthquake. But every time their has been one we always call our family members to see if they are okay. Also if our call doesn't go through then we go and check since they live up the street from us but we always find a way of contacting each other. For future earthquakes now I will have supplies to last me at least a week; food, water, batteries, flashlights, anything I need.
ReplyDeleteYeah I agree earthquakes are unexpected. My family have a plan since I live right at the San Andrea's fault. We will call each other right away. If we are not able to call each other than will try to meet outside our house. I wish their could be a system that could detect an earthquake for California.
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ReplyDeletePompeii and it's Mt.Vesuvius eruption, greatest moment in history for geologists. I'm actually waiting for Yellowstone and have nature take it's course on humans because it's better than robots.
ReplyDeleteI believe that few people are ready for the next big shake, and the problem is that we have known for a long time that it is bound to happen we just do not know when. Since, it is not something people really think about anymore few people are prepared. Sure, we have thrilling films that make us consider it for about two hours such as San Andreas, The day After Tomorrow, and Deep Impact, but I doubt anyone is any more or less afraid of what could happen.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to say whether I would contact relatives or not because I am not in that situation. I would like to think I would, but, honestly, I might be too selfish and only try to survive myself.
Disaster preparedness is something something a good amount of people do not have and as for my family we are a part of those people. It would be hard to do so due to the fact that most of us commute all over the bay area my father and uncle commute to San Francisco from concord every day. I commute to east bay to concord then to San Francisco and I work practically on the water of the pacific ocean. We are basically doomed but if I get some kind of warning my plan would probably be stay in Concord, there is no big skyscrapers that would fall on any of us the most is probably a tree would knock out power lines but my family has a power generator so we are good for about a week and a half. As for food we have two deep freezers stroked with lots of meat that will last a good two weeks. The only ones that are really in any danger is my family in San Francisco we would probably tell them to come with us to Concord.
ReplyDeleteMy Geology professor always tells us that at any time Yellowstone could erupt and frankly, not a lot of people are even ready for an event like that. I mean no one really even talks or thinks about a volcano erupting especially one like Yellowstone. There have been a lot of movies about something like happening and people think that it would be the same as that but it's not even a little close like the movies. Me personally would not know what I would do. I would want to contact my family as soon as possible but there probably won't be anytime what so ever. Living right on the Hayward fault is pretty scary to be honest.
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