What do you do when a sleeping volcano roars back to life? For nearly four decades, countries around the world have called upon the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Volcano Disaster Assistance Program (VDAP) to contribute expertise and equipment in times of crisis. Founded in 1986 by the USGS and the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance, VDAP has evolved and grown over the years, adding newly developed monitoring technologies, training and exchange programs, and eruption forecasting methodologies to greatly expand global capabilities that mitigate the impacts of volcanic hazards. These advances, in turn, strengthen the ability of the United States to respond to its own volcanic events.
