Yellowstone eruption... what then?

After reading all the comments on this and other forums (bombing of the levee, Katrina Hurricane, Haarp, sever solar flares, earthquakes, etc. - you can mentally add more - ) I have been thinking a lot and would like to start the following theme.

Have you seen the movie called "Supervolcano"? Well, if you haven´t, I can confirm that it was based on scientific information, accurate and amazing...
If you would like to know more about Yellowstone, you can visit the excellent work done by a Research Project here, really worth reading:
www.abovetopsecret.com...

You will read the magnitude of this Supervolcano, its activity, how many areas have been closed to the public... As summary, a lot of important information that will make you move if you live close to it...

Now comes the best part of this initiative:
First of all, open your mind...
Imagine you are the Governor of an important country and scientists confirm that the eruption of your Supervolcano - Yellowstone - is very close and you cannot do anything to avoid it.

What would you do in the meantime? And how would you affront this event?
(Please, answer as the Governor, not as yourself)...

(Imagine, the high number of people killed, people without home, food, money, jobs, etc.)

And?

Buy a lot of farmland in Iowa. It will soon be beachfront.

lol! I loved that movie!
Ok, I'm the embattled Governor of Idaho, Montana, or Wyoming, and I know that the eruption is soon? Crikey.
*Evacuate all citizens living within an area that would be destroyed, a radius of as many hundred miles as USGS woulld quote me. Mandatory evac, yes, and with ALL public transit available to help. School busses would be added onto normal bus routes, and people would be headed to shelters outside the expected blast area. It would be encouraged that they bring their important paperwork and any small pets with them.
*Once our citizens had left the area of immediate danger, I would be arranging with the feds and govs of other states how their treatment would be handled. I hope that in a time of crisis, my neighboring govs would be willing to assist, as they were in Katrina. I would make it clear that fed (read= FEMA) obstruction on help would not be acceptable, and that as a state, it is within our rights to accept help from any sources.
*If possible, I would try to arrange the removal of the contents of any great museums in the area- just hire art movers, and have them head east with our stuff. Art movers are a pretty dedicated bunch, they would take it wherever they could.
*in the same vein, I would ask for help in moving the creatures in the zoos and aquariums- I'm sure CA could assist with that.

*Once I felt that I had every living creature, human and otherwise, moved out of the area of immediate danger, I would fly the heck out myself and have a drink!

If the Yellowstone super volcano goes it will be the worst natural disaster in recorded human history. If we got warning long before the event which we might not Evacuation would be a nightmare.

Last time it went off something like 1000miles in every direction was covered in six feet of ash. The west coast of Canada and the US would pretty much be destroyed.

I dont think there is a country on earth that could relocate that many people. It would just be a nightmare

Up to the answers published, may I say the following?

Rise And Fall, you would be the perfect Governor, really worried about his citizens. I would vote you for Governor. Your theory is accepted.

Then, when reading Shadow XIX answer´s, we have to admit the true. If this happens, the disaster would be a real nightmare.
-------
In the film, they told people that there might be an imminent small eruption and they should prepare for 3 days of being home, and then evacuated all the people from 100 miles around the caldera.
In reality, if there is an eruption, larger than Mt. St. Helens, we would need at least a year's worth of supplies because no food could be grown, farm lands would be useless, temperatures would drop by as much as 15 degrees. Within 3 months, the entire world would be covered by clouds.
Millions of people would die - most within the surrounding 100 miles - fewer people would die from inhalation of ash as it spreads mostly east and south from the caldera in widening circles around the area. 600 miles from the caldera is not safe at all.
--- further information:
www.earthmountainview.com...


Knowing this beforehand, the proportion of the disaster, the high number of killed, the high, high number of people without home, job and money. The problem to get food, water, etc.
My question is:
Do you really think there would be a warning?

well in a two part drama series by the bbc about yellowstone erupting, only 8 million survived. which could be a realistic figure if it's as bad as they say it's going to be.

I am with you shaunybaby. I can´t imagine the real effects of such eruption, maybe that would be a good subject too...

I think it is nearly impossible for the government of the US to really prepare for a disaster of that magnitude. It is impossible to say when a Yellowstone eruption would occur, it could be in days, months, years, decades or even centuries.

Americans will not want to just abandon their homes and cities from now for an event some don't think will happen in their lifetimes and the government cannot force them until it's too late. The logistics of evacuating millions and preparing them for such an event on short notice is unphantomable to our government whom imo can only handle events on a reactive side rather than a preventive side.

Whenever Yellowstone does erupt, there will be a tremendous loss of life, unless we all kill off each other with war and disease before it happens.

I think it is nearly impossible for the government of the US to really prepare for a disaster of that magnitude. It is impossible to say when a Yellowstone eruption would occur, it could be in days, months, years, decades or even centuries.

Americans will not want to just abandon their homes and cities from now for an event some don't think will happen in their lifetimes and the government cannot force them until it's too late. The logistics of evacuating millions and preparing them for such an event on short notice is unphantomable to our government whom imo can only handle events on a reactive side rather than a preventive side.

Whenever Yellowstone does erupt, there will be a tremendous loss of life, unless we all kill off each other with war and disease before it happens.

Yes, Worldwatcher That´s reality.about Yellowstone and humanity.

I do not think a Government would be able to cope with such a disaster and of course, it is unimaginable to think of a evacuation before...

I just hope that those who believe in the danger, move now and start living elsewhere. Just to prevent.
It is true, it can happen today, tomorrow, the following day, in a year, fourty or the next century. Who knows? But I prefer to be far away from it, now.

well since the caldera isnt permanantly under yellowstone, we can hope it will hold out long enough that it goes under the 30 mile thick rocky mountain area. and there is no guarentee that the whole caldera will erupt, maybe a small eruption, maybe a supereruption, noone knows

If you are interested in what the aftermath of an eruption at Yellowston might look like, may I suggest this site It is a very interesting slide show.

Thanks for the link darkelf.

How amazing and dangerous it would be...

I'm afraid a TERRORIST will set off a nuke above a weak spot in YELLOWSTONE. i'm also afraid that they have targeted the weak spots with intercontinetal missiles.
I have no knowledge of anyone planning this. These thoughts come from accessing our weak spots and deciding where I would attack if I were a foreign power.

Well the evacuation would be too big to happen. I think the govt. knows this. If I were governor, or president, I would obtain every movie and have all scientists help with documentaries. I would then make sure that every major tv channel had a movie about it, and all the other channels mentioned it on all their shows........but I guess they did that already.

Originally posted by IXRAZORXI321
I'm afraid a TERRORIST will set off a nuke above a weak spot in YELLOWSTONE.

I hope they will not try this uncertain terrorist attack...

Originally posted by IXRAZORXI321
I'm afraid a TERRORIST will set off a nuke above a weak spot in YELLOWSTONE. i'm also afraid that they have targeted the weak spots with intercontinetal missiles.
I have no knowledge of anyone planning this. These thoughts come from accessing our weak spots and deciding where I would attack if I were a foreign power.

The problem is that you have no way of knowing how large the next eruption at Yellowstone might be. It might be another Caldera-forming event, like the Huckleberry Tuff incident (bye-bye mid-west) or it might be a dome-forming event, in which case a few buffalo get crisped.
And given that a super-eruption would plunge the world into a volcanic winter, only a loonie willing to starve to death would organise it. (Pause. Hell, there are a few loonies out there, aren't there?)
The other thing is that setting off a nuke is not a reliable way of starting an earthquake and (hopefully) jogging the volcano into erupting. You'd lose a lot of energy in the upwards and lateral blast. A nuke would also not be large enough to set off something as large as Yellowstone. Although, it might be possible with a substantial hydrogen bomb buried a long way under somewhere like Norris. But I stress the word 'might'.

dude, If yellowstone erupts, everyting to the east is screwed. the ash would cause a total and literal blackout and not just with the power. You know what, if yellowstone erupts, were all screwed. It will be like an eternal night that is in the middle of winter. the only difference will be the snow will be black and grity.

Originally posted by ketoes13
dude, If yellowstone erupts, everyting to the east is screwed. the ash would cause a total and literal blackout and not just with the power. You know what, if yellowstone erupts, were all screwed. It will be like an eternal night that is in the middle of winter. the only difference will be the snow will be black and grity.

Yellowstone does not always erupt in a VEI8 eruption - it sometimes has much smaller eruptions that emit a relatively small amount of lava, creating lava domes or lava streams, depending on how viscous the emerging magma is. Or it might have a hydrothermal feature that vents, creating a new lake. That's the problem, we don't know what kind of an eruption is coming there. Hell, we've only been monitoring it with scientific instruments for, what, less than a century? We have barely scratched the surface in terms of understanding how it works. It wasn't identified as a caldera until the early 1970's and the definition of a supervolcano is still very new. To have a good idea of the long-term behaviour of something this size, we need long-term data. More than we have now. Last year there were some significant changes to Norris Basin, with new features turning up. It went back to normal after a while, but we need to place this in the correct context, which is difficult enough as it is. We have no clue as to what might happen next.

No clue what will happen next... But, we all know it Will happen...
Therefore, I wonder the following; if we now it will happen (say tomorrow or in 200 or 2000 years)... Why not taking the appropriated steps and subventions to organize - now - an emergency strategy for that "undetermined" moment... ?

Some will say it is too difficult to evacuate and relocate such a high number of people. Others will say we should have more children, to balance the loss... Some even prefer to be silent about a possible mega eruption to prevent chaos... I´ve even heard comments saying... The more victims, the less costs for the state...

Come on!

I thought we were supposed to help each other and save lives?