Frequency
There are about 550 active volcanoes on land.  Every year about 50 of these erupt, although only a few eruptions are serious enough to cause great damage. There are many more volcanoes on the floors of our oceans, these bubble away mostly unseen.

Damage   
From 1995-1999, the islands of Montserrat in the Caribbean experienced a major volcano causing death and destruction. The island was evacuated.  The most famous eruption of all time was in A.D. 0079, when Mt. Vesuvius in Italy suddenly erupted. It buried the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum.  These ruins were dug up 300 years ago by archeologists.  Mt. St. Helens in Washington State experienced the best known eruption in the last 30 years. 66 people were killed and trees were burned up to 17 miles. 

Warning signs 
Some warning signs are earthquakes, ground movements, and the release of gases.  These signs help scientists predict volcanoes.


Prediction and notification systems
Scientists are still learning to predict volcanic eruptions accurately.  They predict when a volcano will erupt by studying every new eruption.  The scientists inform the people near volcanoes when they see warning signs.  The governments have rescue and evacuation plans in case of any volcanic eruption.

Would you rather live near a volcano or an earthquake fault?????  I would rather live near a volcano than an earthquake fault because you can get away from volcanoes but earthquakes are everywhere. For instance You could drive away from a volcano. Can you drive away from an earthquakes?? However earthquakes are everywhere.

Sources: www.encarta.msn.com