like they didn t have much warning at all. so we re still waiting to see the extent of the damage that they ve felt. finally, are there adverse environmental impacts other than the tsunami and what we saw in the flooding? volcanic ash into the air? yes. volcanic ash, i m so glad you mentioned it because a lot of people think volcano ash is like soot in your fireplace. it s not. it is actually pulverized fragments of rock, and they are very tiny. we re talking microscopic. and they can form blankets hundreds of miles away. they can float on the ocean, making rafts. they re pretty devastating to local populations too because they can collapse the roofs of buildings, they can stop jet engines from functioning, and, of course, they ll smother crops and pollute water supplies. so yeah, the folks nearby are going to be feeling the effects of this eruption for quite a few