In spite of their catastrophic potential, most volcanoes erupt infrequently, and many have had no eruptions in living memory. Communities near such volcanoes can have increased vulnerability due to their inexperience of volcanic hazards, lack of preparedness, and limited knowledge of volcanic hazards and risk. These communities need education and information about the behavior of volcanoes, their hazards and risk, as well as management and mitigation steps they can adopt to increase their resilience.
Film is a very effective tool for communicating knowledge about volcanic hazards and risk. Teaming with scientists and communication experts, a team from the University of Bristol set out to produce multilingual and multiplatform films to increase resilience to risks from volcanic hazards. With about one tenth of the world’s population exposed to volcanic hazards, these films are intended for a global audience, focusing on communities living on volcanoes with little to no experience of the volcanic hazards they face.