Nothing can survive that. These floods can extend a mile or more in width and roll down stream beds at 30 mph. Though not as deadly, lava flows can destroy vast reaches of property. Capable of reaching temperatures of 2,000 degrees or more, these glowing red flows of liquid rock move slowly but incessantly across the landscape. Smaller flows can be diverted or dammed, but larger ones defy such measures.
Landslides can destroy mountainsides and suddenly unleash a volcano's fury.
That's what happened in 1980 at Mount St. Helens in Washington, astonishing scientists. The volcano's north slope gave way, causing a massive landslide followed by a pyroclastic explosion. People many miles away from a volcano can be affected by its violence, often in unexpected ways. In 1982, a British Airways 747 jetliner carrying 263 people lost all power over Indonesia after it inadvertently flew into an ash cloud emitted by the Galunggung volcano. After 13 minutes of powerless, terrifying flight, pilots managed to restart the engines.