Ash threatens your lungs, your roof, your water, and even your pets β here's the priority order for before and after an eruption.
When a volcano erupts, ash carried by the wind often causes more widespread harm than the lava itself. It irritates airways, cuts road visibility to nothing, slowly kills electronics, and piles up on roofs with real structural weight. Don't judge the danger by past eruptions or what you can see from your window β the official alert level and evacuation orders in effect right now are where every response should start.
This list moves in order: preparing before an eruption, staying safe indoors during one, and cleaning up and recovering afterward. Not every step applies at once, so check your location, wind direction, evacuation zone, and building condition first, then pick out what you actually need.
