Fertile Danger Zones

The most dangerous volcanoes are often surrounded by the densest populations. Naples, home to 3 million, sits just 9 kilometers from Vesuvius — an eruption today could force the largest evacuation in European history.

Mount Merapi in Java erupts roughly every five years, yet millions live in its danger zone, drawn by soil that yields three rice harvests a year. The Philippines' Taal Volcano sits on an island within a lake, and its 2020 eruption displaced nearly 400,000 people.