The Ring of Fire

Effects on Southeast Asia


Above is a map of Southeast Asia. This includes Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.


This is the Ring of Fire which affects life in Southeast Asia, as the area is included in part of it the Ring of Fire. The Ring of Fire is connected to most volcanoes and earthquakes around the world. According to the USGS, "The Ring of Fire is the most seismically and volcanically active zone in the world."

Works Cited:

What Is the "Ring of Fire"?, www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-ring-fire?qt-news_science_products=0. 


This is a map of the tectonic plates of the world which can be compared to the map of the Ring of Fire. It is pretty obvious that the Ring of Fire follows along where some of these tectonic plates meet. The USGS says, "Most earthquakes and volcanic eruptions do not strike randomly but occur in specific areas, such as along plate boundaries," which lines up with why the patterns between the two maps are very similar.

Works Cited:

What Is the "Ring of Fire"?, www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-ring-fire?qt-news_science_products=0. 


As the picture shows, the Ring of Fire can cause destruction to areas within it. Places like Indonesia deal with reoccurring earthquakes which can also lead to tsunamis. For Indonesia, "During the past 30 days, Indonesia was shaken by 15 quakes of magnitude 5.0 or above, 160 quakes between 4.0 and 5.0, 368 quakes between 3.0 and 4.0, and 297 quakes between 2.0 and 3.0."

Works Cited:

“Earthquakes in or near Indonesia Today: Latest Quakes Past 30 Days - Complete List and Interactive Map.” VolcanoDiscovery, www.volcanodiscovery.com/earthquakes/indonesia.html. 


This is a map of active volcanoes in Southeast Asia from the Earth Observatory of Singapore. For the Philippines these active volcanoes have caused last minute evacuations as they can't say exactly when one will erupt even if they know it'll be soon. When the Taal Volcano eruption was in sight, at the beginning of 2020, people were, "warned that a larger "explosive eruption" could occur within hours or days," (Neuman).

Works Cited:

“Active Volcanoes in Southeast Asia.” Earth Observatory of Singapore, earthobservatory.sg/resources/maps/active-volcanoes-southeast-asia. 

Neuman, Scott. “Volcanic Eruption In Philippines Causes Thousands To Flee.” NPR, NPR, 13 Jan. 2020, www.npr.org/2020/01/13/795815351/volcanic-eruption-in-philippines-causes-thousands-to-flee. 


While volcanoes can lead to beautiful, but terrifying pictures, for the places that create these moments they mean destruction and devastation, along with possible deaths. This picture is from the eruption of the Taal Volcano in the Philippines. For the Philippines there was more danger than the eruption itself as, "Dozens of earthquakes preceded Sunday's eruption, and authorities warned that a tsunami was possible in the freshwater lake surrounding the volcano," (Neuman).

Works Cited:

Neuman, Scott. “Volcanic Eruption In Philippines Causes Thousands To Flee.” NPR, NPR, 13 Jan. 2020, www.npr.org/2020/01/13/795815351/volcanic-eruption-in-philippines-causes-thousands-to-flee. 


Probably the most well known and deadliest tsunami ever recorded impacted Southeast Asia. It is commonly known as the Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004. It happened the day after Christmas so it was the tourist season for this part of the world which meant more people were impacted than if the tsunami had occurred outside of the tourist season. It was also, "a 9.1-magnitude earthquake—one of the largest ever recorded," (Roos) and it took, "230,000 lives in a matter of hours," (Roos). The death toll was high and the destruction was devastating as it was said to have caused, "Buildings folded like houses of cards, trees and cars were swept up in the oil-black rapids," (Roos).

Works Cited:

Roos, Dave. “The 2004 Tsunami Wiped Away Towns With 'Mind-Boggling' Destruction.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2 Oct. 2018, www.history.com/news/deadliest-tsunami-2004-indian-ocean.