Deaths attributed to lava flows are often due to related causes, such as explosions when lava interacts with water, the collapse of an active lava delta, asphyxiation due to accompanying toxic gases, pyroclastic flows from a collapsing dome, and lahars from meltwater.
Other natural phenomena such as hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunami, fires, and earthquakes often destroy buildings, agricultural crops, and homes, but the owners can usually rebuild or repair structures and their businesses in the same location. Lava flows, however, can bury homes and agricultural land under tens of meters of hardened black rock; landmarks and property lines become obscured by a vast, new hummocky landscape. People are rarely able to use land buried by lava flows or sell it for more than a small fraction of its previous worth.
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