Supersonic volcanoes in past have caused devastating destruction to both life and property on the planet. But in such a case, saving wealth would hardly matter as the need is to protect human life from becoming a prey to killer lava. It is believed that lava is less dangerous at such a time than a pyroclastic flow, fast moving current of hot gas and rock. A research published in journal Nature Communications on March 7 claimed that it would not be easy to outrun an erupted volcano.

Researchers at University Of Buffalo volcanologist, Greg Valentine and colleagues, studied 18.8 million years old erupted volcano called the Silver Creek caldera, which caused widespread destruction by spreading across areas of Nevada, California and Arizona. Researchers analyzed rocks that were trapped in volcanic ash. They found that the pyroclastic flow from the volcano wasn’t as fast as believed earlier; it only travelled with a speed ranging from 10 to 45 miles per hour.

Their findings enlighten us about possibility that if not all but some people can probably outrun even a supersonic volcano. As a super-eruption comes along with warnings such as more frequent tremors and earthquakes, people can be guided to evacuate the area near to volcano on time.

The new findings stated that timely warning can save many lives as people have few hours to evacuate the area. An average person can run with a speed of 15 mph, but under rare conditions and emergency, humans could achieve a speed of up to 40 mph. So there are chances that one can escape a volcanic eruption.

“The character and speed of the flows will affect how much time you might have to get out of the way, although the only truly safe thing to do is to evacuate before a flow starts”, said study co-author Greg Valentine, a volcanologist at the University at Buffalo in New York.

According to Valentine, such studies into understanding the behavior of ancient flows could help experts do a better job of forecasting and preparing for future volcanic disasters.