Glen Andrea Z.

Omandam
Allaine Demsone G. Benitez
Vinz D. Barnido
of 11 - Venus
Lahars
objectives
1. Describe how Lahars are
generated on the slopes of
volcanoes.
2. Differentiate the types of
Lahar processes and deposits.
3. Analyze the effects of
Lahars.
4. List the various Lahar
mitigation measures.
 LAHAR It also picks older volcanic
deposits along the river channel.
is a process wherein the wet Despite the fact that lahars are
cement-like mixture of volcanic debris-laden, like wet concrete,
material and water flows down these are quite mobile. Large
the slopes of a volcano. In lahars that can flow at several tens
Javanese, an Indonesian dialect, of meters per second are
"lahar" means "lava" or "lava impossible for people to outrun.
The deposits that lahar leave
flow", but volcanologists have behind are like dry concrete,
adopted the term to refer to this sometimes with boulders as big as
volcanic event. Lahar usually a house scattered everywhere.
carries fresh eruption material These big chunks can be used as
like pyroclastic flows and tephra indicators of the presence of lahars
fall. that occurred during historic times
or in the recent geologic past.
 how lahars are generated
Many lahars are formed by intense rainfall during
an eruption. Rainwater can easily erode loose
volcanic material deposited on the upper slopes of
a volcano or along a path of a river on its way down
the slopes. The water may come from other
sources. Eruptions alone can trigger lahars directly
by melting snow and icecap. The breaching of a
dam or crater lake by the eruption may also
provide water that loosens and carries volcanic
materials from the upper slopes.
What Lahars look like
On November 13, 1985, in Colombia, a town called Armero was badly struck
by the '1985 Lahars' cascading down the slopes of Nevado del Ruiz in
Colombia. These are the deadliest lahars in volcanic history. The Armero
tragedy is Colombia's worst natural disaster with 23, 000 facilities, and one of
the 20th century's worst disasters.
The '1985 Lahars' cascaded into the lowlands through the Lagunillas River,
burying the town of Amero, which is about 70 kilometers from the source of
the lahars, Nevado del Ruiz. During the disaster, a schoolgirl in Armero named
Omayra Sanchez always comes to mind. She was 13 years old during the
disaster. The rushing water from the upper slopes of Nevado del Ruiz .
destroyed the house of Omayra's family. Her legs were pinned by concrete
which made her rescue extremely difficult. Her head and hands were above
water, she maintained mental strength during her 55-hour ordeal.
 She was surrounded by local and international press
and heroic rescue because of the lack of surgical
equipment and medical facilities. Omayra's story
circulated around the globe and triggered unpleasant
debates among local and national agencies in Colombia.
None of these exchanges, however, could bring back
her life.

other information about lahars

By adding water and eroding rock
In the case of Nevado del Ruiz, debris along the way, lahars can
the melting of icecap by the hot grow more than 10 times their initial
pyroclastic flows provided the size. Lahars eventually wane in size
and lose their heavy load of
water that mobilized fresh sediments as it moves farther away.
volcanic materials on the upper
reaches of the volcano. The occurrence of Lahar favors
Lahars can occur right after or stratovolcanoes or those that tend to
even long after an eruption erupt explosively, tall and steep
volcanoes, and those with weak or
especially if there is heavy rainfall. easily erodible volcanic rock layers
Whether rainfall can trigger one or for a source of Lahar material.
not would depend on the intensity Although heavy rainfalls provide
and duration of the rainfall. water for Lahar, it may not be
necessary in volcanoes with crater
lakes or snow-covered tops
Since both refer to Lahar processes, we may hear volcanologists
talk about Lahars and hyper-concentrated streamflows during
a Lahar crisis.

See how the two end-member Lahar deposits differ:

Lahar Deposits Lahar-Runout

poor sorting (mix of different sizes of
fragments); fragments are from
Flow Deposit
clay-sized to boulder-sized
(depending on source materials;
boulders are more common in Mayon Displays better bedding than
Lahars than Pinatubo Lahars.
May contain a wide variety of clasts
Lahar; shows better sorting
(heterolytic) than Lahar
Matrix-supported means pebbles,
rocks, and boulders are not touching Normal grading (above a
each other; the majority of the
outcrop is silt, sand, clay possible reverse-graded base)
May have reverse-graded base (smaller Better clast imbrication than
fragments are at the lower part)
May show some clast imbrication or Lahar
preferred orientation of the larger
fragments Boulders are not as common
clasts are typically angular
or sub-angular
 Since both refer to Lahar processes, we may hear volcanologists
talk about Lahars and hyper-concentrated streamflows during a
Lahar crisis.

See how the two end-member Lahar deposits differ:

Lahar-Runout
Lahar Deposits Flow Deposit

Lahar deposit cross section in the Lahar-runout or hyper concentrated-flow

Trout Lake lowland deposit resulting from an eruption

of Mount Rainier, Washington
photograph by

Volcano Hazards Program photograph by K.M. Scott

 The Many Faces of Lahars
Water in rivers normally contains less than 20% sediment by
volume (normal streamflow). Add more sediments and it
transforms into a dangerous kind of streamflow. In a strict sense,
Lahar refers to the dense, viscous flows of a mixture of 60%
volcanic debris, and 40% water by volume. More commonly, it
refers to a flow with a wide range of volcanic debris (20% or
more by volume) and a water mixture.
Lahar also refers to the deposits formed by Lahar flows. Dilute
pure Lahars, called "hyperconcentrated streamflows", contain
20% to 60% volcanic debris by volume. Another scheme uses
%Wt. as a measure of sediment concentration.
effects of lahars
effects of lahars
Lahars can Pinatubo's lahar Lahars The
travel as far as deposits: 1.5 m devastate by Cagsagawa
300km and at a Boulders Nevado direct impact of Church in
speed of del Ruiz, 1985 the flow itself Albay is the
70km/h. lahar: 208 m and of the
boulders. Mayon living evidence
Lahars are able to lahar: 3m in
debris and logs. of what lahars
transport large diameter boulders Anything along can do
amounts of debris the path of a
erode from valleys Lahars can vary lahar is crushed, Lahars are
and slopes on the from hot to cold, blown away, or dangerous
upper parts of the depending on buried. because of
volcano. Extremely their mode of When exposed to the large
large boulders a genesis and the immense water, amount of
logs may be origin of the the lahar deposits
carried with the materials
debris and can start moving
sediments. water. again. involved.
TAMING LAHARS
When all the assessments of historical lahars are
finished, evacuation is the best preventive measure.
During a Lahar crisis, effective dissemination of
lahar hazard information is necessary.
Involves educating local residents, local authorities,
and local and national defense organizations.
Coordination between the lahar experts and
emergency management agencies is a must.
A good monitoring and warning system should be
in place, just in case, to alert people early enough so
that they can evacuate to safer places.
TAMING LAHARS
Usage of flow sensors (e.g., using instruments and
seismic signals) along the lahar channels and
monitoring of rainfall intensity and duration.
Because this is prone to damage, manned lahar
observation posts are used to complement the
monitoring and warning systems.
Other strategies are designed to promote stability
in the area.
Prevention of crater lake breakout has also been
suggested.
TAMING LAHARS
Stabilize the natural crater lake dam at the crater
lake outlet.
Excavation of a channel that allows the draining of
water in crater lakes to a safe level. This involves
the excavation of the Tephra dam of a trench that
would act as a channel through which crater lake
water in excess of the safe level can be drained.
Many methods have been used to stop or at
least detour a lahar. Some of these methods
include;
1. building retention basins
2. alternate channels, tunnels, and
concrete structures such as dams across
the river channel and dikes parallel to
the channels.
 Lahar Hazard Maps
The fact that Armero town was buried by Lahar from Nevado del
Ruiz means that certain conditions in Armero were conducive to
Lahar inundation. Geologists study possible sources of Lahar
material, potential channels, and dumping grounds of Lahar
deposits. These can be used by authorities as bases for zoning,
land-use planning, and evacuation site selection. Armero was the
most affected town by lahar in 1985, even before they have a
history of Lahar occurrences.
 Lahar Hazard Maps
Civil Defense Agent Competent Scientists and
issues timely advisories Civil Defense Personnel
and warnings. should be perceived as
protectors of the people and
not as scaremongerer.
Volume and Topography
influences how far lahar travel Alluvial Fans are fan-shaped
and how big the inundation of an accumulation of sediments
area will be. deposited by rivers at the
boundary of highlands and
lowlands.
Even when confined, Lahars are able to overflow where the river bends
or where there are topographic barriers which are not exceedingly
high. The ability of Lahars to shift courses and to form new channels
can extend their reach.


- A few years after its eruption in 1991, rain-induced lahars from Pinatubo's
slopes buried more than 400 km² of productive land, destroyed residential areas,
and caused the relocation of more than 50,000 people.
- So long as materials are available for rainwater to mobilize, Lahars can occur
years after an eruption.

Mt. Pinatubo - Typhoons and the rains brought

about by habagat occurring from
July to October had been
responsible for the destructive
Lahars in the Pinatubo area after its
1991 eruption.
- Debris of all sorts may form a dam
along the river, the breakage of this
dam may cause flash floods and
more Lahars downstream. This
happened along the rivers in Mt.
Pinatubo in 1994. It caused 25
deaths due to the breakage of the
Lahar from Mt. Pinatubo lake border.
Lahars were deposited at different times following Pinatubo Volcano's 1991
eruption. Pyroclastic flows and tephra fall on the upper slopes of Pinatubo
were the sources of volcanic materials of the lahars. The lahars took
advantage of the major and more minor rivers around Pinatubo in
Zambales, Pampanga, and Tarlac.

legend
1. 1991 Pyroclastic Flows;
2. Lahars;
3. Isopachs (or lines of
equal thickness) of air fall
deposits in cm;
4. Active lahar channels;
5. Provincial boundaries;
6. Towns
Thank you
for listening!