Summing Up the Effects Taranaki May Have

All in all, an ash cloud from an eruption of Mount Taranaki could have widespread impacts on New Zealand, and perhaps the world. Ashfall has the potential to endanger lives,

The ash cloud could have disastrous impacts on the agricultural sector. The productive dairy farms around the region are expected to experience deep layers of ash deposits following a future event. This would kill pasture and cause a heavy reduction in the food supply of stock. Livestock could also be harmed by direct interaction with the ash particulates. Historically, the gritty substance has been found to cause gastrointestinal harm to sheep following volcanic eruptions.

Water systems around the mountain are likely to be contaminated, both physically and chemically. This will likely mean that water supplies could be rendered unpalatable for both people and animals.

The physical presence of the fallen ash itself will also pose hazards to roofs due to corrosion and the potential to cause collapse due to the sheer weight of the material. Deep ash fall also has the potential to render roads impassable. This could potentially result in aid efforts being hampered. Coordinating aid would also be disrupted by the effects the ash may have on power supplies. Generators would necessary to power equipment due to the unreliability of the national grid during the incident, as a result of insulator flashover.

Due to the importance of Taranaki as a dairying region, and the importance of the region to New Zealand's energy sector, ash fall has the potential to cause major impacts to New Zealand's economy. Domestic transportation corridors such as airline routes and state highways, and some international transportation corridors have the potential to be greatly affected by significant ashfall, thereby worsening the economic impacts.

Getting aid onsite would also be hampered because it would be too dangerous to fly ordinary, civilian aircraft into the area. And even then, the only major airfield in the Taranaki region is New Plymouth Airport, which, from the ashfall distribution diagrams (Neall & Alloway, 1991) is in a zone expected to experience up to 10 cm of ash. This means that aid would also need to be flown into the other closest airports at Palmerston North, Whanganui and Ohakea Air Force Base. Even then, all of these airports are outside the Taranaki region.

And if the eruption is large enough, the effects may be felt internationally, with disruptions due to ash experienced in southern hemisphere countries such as Chile, Argentina, South Africa and Australia, depending on the distance the wind carries the ash.