Indigenous oral traditions reveal valuable insights into volcanic eruptions

A new international study has found that Indigenous oral traditions, some thousands of years old, hold valuable and often overlooked insights into volcanic eruptions—offering important lessons for modern disaster preparedness. The research, published in the journal Volcanica, was led by Museums Victoria Research Institute volcanologist Dr. Heather Handley and draws on case studies from Australia, Fiji, Hawai'i, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to demonstrate how Traditional Knowledge and scientific data can be integrated to better understand volcanic history and hazards.