VDAP turns 30

August 2, 2016 1:59 PM

30 Years Saving Lives from Volcanoes VDAP was established in 1986 in response to the tragic eruption of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano in Colombia that killed more than 23,000 people. Recognizing that the tragedy could have been averted with assistance before the eruption, the USGS and USAID/OFDA formed VDAP.
posted by Michele in California (4 comments total)

If you aren't an environmental sciences major and don't just squee (like I did) at the link above, you might enjoy this take on what this means a bit more:

Pinatubo 25 Years Later: Eight Ways the Eruption Broke Ground
posted by Michele in California at 2:40 PM on August 2, 2016 [3 favorites]

VDAP is my very very very favorite government program!

Some people when they need to weep a little weep watch a movie about love or Old Yeller or something. When I need a good cry I cue up the Nova special on the Mt. Pinatubo eruption, "In the Path of a Killer Volcano," and cry in scientific triumph, relief, and sadness when they predict the volcanic eruption all while wrestling with a HURRICANE and get hundreds of thousands of people out in time. Oh hell, I'm seeping tears now just thinking about it - 700 people still died. VDAP was only 5 years old at the time and the Mt. Pinatubo prediction (USGS page) was a test for the program, and it was a wonderful success - it brilliantly showed off how international cooperation and volcanic monitoring programs could work. For those interested in a good read about it, I would suggest the USGS/Philippine pub Fire and Mud.  (It's only 1000+ pages long.)

I have so much I could say about how and why programs like this which are a result of science and international cooperation to solve problems are so fucking important, and are also quiet and not sexy so it means not a lot of people know about them and thus are really subject to budget cuts (and let's not forget that since the programs involve science! and international help they're also subject to other prejudices - cue Bobby Jindal's quote about how monitoring volcanoes was "wasteful spending" ) - but it would get super ranty and emotional. Let's just say that in the upcoming election that as frightened as I am for the future of many people, I'm also very frightened and anxious about the future of programs like VDAP and what those losses could mean to people all over the world. (In particular when I think about it, I keep thinking about the 2004 Sumatran earthquake and subsequent tsunami and how things went wrong.)

The most haunting natural disaster photograph I've ever seen was the one of Omayra Sánchez (Wikipedia link - warning:graphic image) who died in the Nevado del Ruiz eruption, the one that as mentioned spurred the creation of VDAP. . . . . I think about her a lot. A lot.
posted by barchan at 2:48 PM on August 2, 2016 [14 favorites]

Hooray for the VDAP heroes!
posted by BlueHorse at 7:51 PM on August 2, 2016 [1 favorite]

Yay for VDAP (for all of USGS, actually; I like to pretend all my personal tax dollars go directly to them) and thank you to barchan for that excellent comment, and to Michele for the post. One of my students last summer (in a class on the social science of disaster) wrote a great final paper about Nevado del Ruiz, and specifically the political impact of the Omayra Sánchez photo. Since reading it, I've thought about her a lot, too, like I think about Yunus Geray--another 13-year-old whose photograph became the indelible face of a disaster (the 2011 Van earthquake). VDAP is a shining example of the best of this country; may it flourish long after Bobby Jindal is forgotten.
posted by karayel at 12:17 AM on August 3, 2016 [1 favorite]