Carbon dioxide and fluorine, gases that can be toxic to humans, can collect in volcanic ash. The resulting ash fall can lead to crop failure, animal death and deformity, and human illness. If inhaled, volcanic ash can cause breathing problems and damage the lungs.
The most common consequences of volcanic events include loss of life, respiratory illness, and severe economic losses, including destruction or damage to housing, infrastructure, and land.
Eruptions can produce such features as floods, pyroclastic flows, and mudflows that can cause major loss of life and property burying towns and villages within minutes (Figure 1). Eruptions can rapidly change productive landscapes to virtual deserts.
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