Dante’s Peak Essay Example

seismograph readings in the movie and the carbon dioxide can kill tress and wildlife. Unrealistic Points in the Movie The lava flows were too fluid when it should have been thick and slow moving. The temperature of hot springs near volcanoes changes more slowly than shown in the movie, an increase takes days and even weeks to develop. The water supply also got contaminated too quickly. Earthquakes associated with volcano eruptions is not big enough to destroy houses, roads and building and not like what was shown in the movie.

The robots are not used by the USGS to monitor earthquakes. They rely on observations and measurements taken in the field and with satellites. It is also not possible that the acid lake took only a few minutes to dissolve the metal boat. The seismographs were not real as the patterns were not reflective of the earthquake shown. It is also not possible to drive across lava flow as it is about 2000 degrees C, the rubber tires would melt and gas tanks would ignite. What kinds of hazards were depicted in the movie,and what part have they played in real volcanic eruptions?

Before the Eruption There is a sudden rise in amount of sulfur dioxide with rising seismic activity. There is also the falling and crumbling of rocks with the appearance of dead animals and escaping animals. Thw water on the earth surface starts to boil and heats up, such an example can be seen when two skinny dipping backpackers get burnt to death in the hot spring. There is also a series of small earthquakes due to the pressure of the magma building underneath, in

the ground. Gas is also released as magma gets closer to the surface of the volcano.

During the Eruption An uncountable number of people and animals die, and water becomes acidic, like the incident where the water from the tap became yellow. Lakes turn acidic and creatures in the sea will die, rubble rushes down the lake. Larva flows and rocks fly out from the volcano due to the explosion. Ash and ash clouds will be formed and this will disrupt air travel. Lava flows and lahars can wipe out the flanks of mountainsides. Volcanic ash can also blanket the landscape for miles.

As shown in the movie, Ruth decides against moving just like in real life as old people do not believe in erupting volcanoes as volcanologists often predicts erupting volcanoes wrongly. The government are afraid to give warnings to the people and volcanologists are often wrong about whether the volcano will erupt on not, and in case it is a false alarm, the people would get into hysterics and more because it would harm the economic and tourism in the country just like how it is in Dante’s peak.

Effects of Eruption The people who are unable to escape in time will be injured or killed by falling rubble. They can also be buried under the rubble, and if they are not rescued in time, they have a high chance of dying of hunger, dehydration or suffocation. The eruption brings about economic damage to the country, especially if the volcano affected industrial estates. Also, stock prices of the country decreases drastically, bring about impact to the entire country, regardless of whether they were affected by the volcano

or not.

Lastly, the country will require a large amount of fund for rebuilding efforts. People are affected psychologically due to their terrifying experience of the eruption of a volcano or the experience of losing their loved ones. There will be a sudden need of doctors, and in some serious cases they need to be sent to bigger hospitals to receive immediate medical treatment. The eruption may cause the explosion of oil factories and damage to nuclear plants, etc.

This will lead to a shortage of fuel, thus vehicles may not have sufficient fuels to leave the affected area. Also, leakage of radioactive waste can affect many generations of people. People who get into contact with the radioactive particles may suffer burns or illnesses that will surface only after a period of time of the eruption which may cause deformity in their descendants. People that are exposed to radiation will suffer loss in white blood cells in their body, their immune system will become weak and they will eventually get cancer and die painfully.