Wednesday, 21 July, 2021 - 16:00 to 17:30
Kuwae 1452 AD, 2nd largest volcanic eruption of past 2000 years in world, oral traditions that describe exactly what happened, how people escaped and recolonised the remnant islands - both a Vanuatu story and a global one with implications for climate change
A massive volcanic eruption tore apart the South Pacific island of Kuwae in the middle of the 15th century. Amazingly, local chiefly oral histories extend back even deeper than the eruption, which is described in detail. Recent archaeological and volcanological research appears to confirm the local oral traditions, and the claim is now being made that this was the second-largest eruption anywhere in the world over the past 2000 years, shifting global climate and weather patterns.