Three Million People Live Around The World’s Deadliest Volcano

What happens if it blows again?

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The Earth is filled with volcanoes, and they are endlessly fascinating. Many people like to fantasize about large civilization destroying behemoths, dubbed supervolcanoes. But those volcanoes are only theoretically dangerous. There is one active volcano that is actually dangerous. In fact, this volcano is the deadliest volcano in history and currently the most dangerous volcano in the world.

Mount Vesuvius.

Vesuvius has a long and violent history. It famously destroyed the Roman city of Pompeii in 79 CE, killing thousands of people. But that was not the only time that Vesuvius rocked the region. During the Bronze Age, Vesuvius erupted with an explosivity rating of six, which was even stronger than the 79 CE eruption. This eruption was so devastating it could have contributed to the Bronze Age Collapse. A stream of haunting footprints fleeing the volcano was encapsulated in the ash.

But that was just the beginning of humanity’s experience with this temperamental volcano.

Since the famous Pompeian eruption, Mount Vesuvius has erupted repeatedly. It erupted again in 172, 203, 222, 303, 379, 472, 512, 536 (widely considered to be the worst year in human history), 685, 787, 860, 900, 968…