Apart from the village of
Paricutin itself, one of the other towns most affected by the lava flows
was San Juan Parangaricutiro, which was was completely engulfed, save
for the steeple of a small church. Nine other villages were also
damaged by lava flows, and subsequent fires.
There were also several other
changes in our environment which affected our daily lives, the most
noticeable being the weather, and air pollution from the ash and
particle-filled sky. Roads and fields were covered with volcanic
ash, and some of the villagers experienced difficulty breathing.
Another side-effect of volcanic activity is acid rain caused by the
emanations of sulphur into the atmosphere. In addition to sulphur
dioxide, volcanoes generate other dangerous gases such as carbon
dioxide, hydrogen sulphide, hydrofluoric acid, and chlorine gas to name
a few.
Apart from the 1000 people who
died following the 1949
Paricutin eruption, I neglected to mention that there were other
deaths, indirectly related to volcanic activity, as people were struck by lightning during some of the violent
thunderstorms which occurred in the months following the eruption, and
of course, there were probably others, who over the years, succumbed from
complications due to exposure to volcanic pollution.
