27. Vesuvius Vomited Lava That Incinerated All That it Encountered
There had been tremors for days, but they were not unusual. The tragic episode kicked off around noon on August 24th, when a cloud appeared atop Vesuvius. About an hour later, the volcano erupted and ash began to fall on Pompeii, 6 miles away. By 2 PM, pumice, or volcanic debris, begin to fall with the ash. By 5 PM, sunlight had been completely blocked and roofs in Pompeii began collapsing under the accumulating weight of ash and pumice.
Panicked townspeople rushed to the harbor seeking any ship that would take them away. By midnight, the volcano was spewing a hot deadly column over 20 miles up into the air. In the meantime, lava flowed down the mountainside in six major surges, as Vesuvius vomited molten rock in a rapid flow that incinerated all that it encountered.
Also Read: Interesting thing about the Tragic Town of Pompeii and the Volcanic Eruption.