A supervolcano has erupted (with a Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) of 8 or higher1) at Yellowstone Park. I am not in the kill zone and not in at least 300 km (~185 miles) radius so I have time to escape. I have survived the initial hazardous downfall of volcanic ash as well.
Left image: Possible zone map after the eruption from reddit
Right image: Known ash-fall boundaries for several U.S. eruptions from usgs.gov (but it would be a larger area in our case):
Immediate after effects:
- In the most dangerous zones, no one survives (up to 100,000 people die in a short time period and the number increases quickly in the western half of North America) (It is covered with sweltering hot gases and up to 5m of volcanic ash at temperatures over 400ºC (~750ºF))
- A global alert is issued. Air/train travel is shut down across North America and soon around the world.
- People start to flee and major roads get stuck
- People start to steal and quickly finish supplies in the markets
Toxic gases were pumped into the atmosphere, including sulfur (that would cause severe respiratory problems)
Volcanic ash starts to cover much of the western half of North America and starts to spread around the world
Long term effects:
- The world is covered with an ash cloud with sulfur aerosols that block the sunlight
- Long term global cooling takes effect
- Rainfall significantly drops, most forests die off
- Agriculture/farming collapse, famine and diseases spread around the world
- Outlaw gangs, murderous raiders will rise around the world (closer to roads and resources)
- Billions of people die in several years
How to survive the supervolcano eruption in short term and the post-apocalyptic world in long term?
Related questions:
- What supplies do I need and can I get in short term?
- What strategy should I follow?
- Where should I go and settle? Should I be always on the move?
- How to find food?
Notes:
- I've tried to make the scenario realistic and detailed but you can let me know if I can update anything or if I can add more bullet points.
- I've searched the site if there is any duplicate question but I couldn't find anything similar or related to supervolcano survival. Although, there are many post-apocalyptic themed questions.
1 A volcanic eruption with a VEI higher than 8 had never happened in the history but there is a potential. In our scenario, the eruption should effect the whole world over the years.