VEI Scale

Rating 9.2: Strong Eruption of mainly lava and smoke. Little or no serious explosions occur from this eruption.

Frequency: Hourly/Daily

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Rating 1: Minor/Moderate eruption of lava, smoke and hot blocks. This eruptions can cause intermittent explosions with can cause debris fall-out and lava bombs, and can fall from this eruption.

Frequency: Daily/Weekly

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Rating 2: Moderate Eruption. This eruption can cause an Ash cloud that can extend only a couple of miles from the volcano. Lava and Hot blocks can be generated by this level of eruption type.

Frequency: Weekly/Monthly

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Rating 3: Moderate/Considerable Eruption. This type of eruption can cause an ash cloud that may extend 7 to 14 miles from the main eruptive vent. Weak pyroclastic flows can sometimes be generated by these eruptions. Lava can be generated but at this raring, it would start getting thicker as the eruption level goes up.

Frequency: Every Couple of months to a year

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Rating 4: Considerable/Severe Eruption This type of eruption can cause ash clouds that extend 9 to 18 miles from the vent. Hot blocks, pumice and ash are the main events of this rated eruption. Some lava can occur as well as weak pyroclastic flows.

Frequency : Every year or so.

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Rating 5: Severe eruption. This eruption happens more frequently than 6+. Volcanoes like Mount St. Helens have been rated this level. The ash cloud of this level of eruption can extend to as little as 9.5 miles to 35 miles from the main eruption. Devastating pyroclastic flows can be generated, even some lava flows.

Frequency : every 5 to 95 years.

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Rating 6: Severe/Serious This eruption can cause an explosion that can be heard for miles. This eruption can devastate land miles away from the volcano. Ash clouds can extend over 40 miles from the volcano. Mount Pinatubo is an example of such an eruption.

Frequency : Every 10 to 3,000 years.

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Rating 7: Serious/Major This eruption can cause devastation for up-to 100 miles from the main vent. The ash cloud can extend 45 to 130 miles from the vent. This eruption can produce lava, pumice, hot blocks and Pyroclastic Flows. Climate can be affected a good amount by the eruption. Mount Tambora is an example volcano of a sort of eruption rating.

1 or 2 small secondary vents may/can Possibly erupt along with the main vent.

Frequency : Every 15 to 12,500 years

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Rating 8: Super Eruption This eruption is the highest rating. If such an eruption occurred, areas in a radius as far as a few miles to the radius size of Texas would be flattened. If such an eruption happened, it could unfold in a series of explosive eruptions/vents and turn into one, or it could just erupt as one single massive vent. After such an eruption, a caldera would form after such an eruption. The ash cloud could extend as little as 50 miles to 450 miles. Ash, pumice and hot blocks as likely to occur from this eruption. As well as pyroclastic flows and some lava.

Frequency: every 20 to 500,000 years.