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This Is How A Volcano's Pyroclastic Flow Will Kill You

Volcanoes are notoriously deadly, but there’s no more frightening a way to meet your own personalized doom than via a pyroclastic flow. These fast-moving ferocious fires look more like summoned demons from a videogame than anything natural – but what exactly happens when one hits you?

Pyroclastic flows are the signature fireworks of the most explosive kinds of volcanic eruptions. These mixtures of ash, lava blebs and broiling gas exceed temperatures of 1,000°C (1,832°F) and move at speeds of up to 700 kilometers per hour (about 450 miles per hour).

They tend to rush down the slopes of stratovolcanoes, the mountainous types responsible for the most explosive eruptions. Sometimes,…

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Resources

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