About Piton de la Fournaise

Name of Volcano: Piton de la Fouraise is on the eastern side of Réunion island  in the Indian Ocean
Type of Volcano: Shield Volcano
Category of Volcano: Active
Number of eruptions: More than 150 recorded eruptions since the 17th century, Most recent on 9 December 2010. {21st century Eruptions: 2000 (Feb-March), 2001 (March-April), 2001 (June-July), 2002 (Jan.), 2002 (Nov-Dec), 2003 (May) - 2004 (Jan), 2004 (May), 2004 (Aug-Oct), 2005 (Feb-March), 2005 (Oct), 2005 (Nov), 2005 (Dec)-2006 (Jan), 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 (Oct), 2010 (Dec) - ongoing.}
Physical & Human Landscape:
A high quality forestry road, followed by a good track, connects the highway of the plains in Bourg-Murat to the Pas de Bellecombe,  a parking lot and a snack bar are available to visitors. It is situated over the caldera rim cliffs and offers a breathetaking view over the northeast part of the caldera.
A good stairway path descends from the pass to the caldera floor. This path is closed for safety reasons during seismic events. White paint marks over rocks delimit a number of footpaths ascending the lava shield inside the caldera.
Visitors exploring the caldera should be in good physical condition & equipped with proper equipment, with hiking shoes and a supply of drinking water and food. They must be prepared to exercise caution, for the weather can change very quickly, moving from bright sunlight and heat (risks of heatstroke) to dense fog with cold and rain. In dense fog, straying from paths is very risky. Visitors are advised to take the necessary precautions for sun, heat, cold and rain and not to stray from marked paths. It is very important to follow these safety measures. An excellent, but expensive way to get a good sight of the volcano is to ride in the tourist helicopter flights.
 Lava flows that have crossed the road are indicated by signs. Completely free access during eruptions was permitted until 1998; access has been limited since that date, being virtually banned at present. Saint Paul the closest town has a lovely street market (on Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings), two miles (3km) of black-sand beaches, fine examples of traditional Creole houses, a seaside cemetery and other historic sites.
Completely free access during eruptions was permitted until 1998; access has been limited since that date, being virtually banned at present. 
orchid 
Brown Noddy 
Rusa Deer
Javan Rusa
Reunion Harrier
Réunion Cuckooshrike
Stinkwood
Madagascar Fody
Panther Chameleon 
Réunion Bulbul 
Natal Free-Tailed Bat
Papillon La Pature

 White-tailed tropicbird

 Mascarene Martin

 Réunion Island day gecko

 Mascarene Petrel, Black Petrel

 Barau’s Petrel

 Mauritian flying fox

 Wedge-tailed Shearwater

 Turtle Dove

 Mascarene Paradise-flycatcher

 Flat-leaved Vanilla, Tahitian Vanilla 

 Reunion Gray White-eye

 Réunion Olive White-eye

Danger the volcano poses: Eruptions usually occur within the caldera and therefore pose little threat to people.  But due to the fact that most its volcanic activity is contained within the caldera – the collapsed area of land that forms following volcanic eruptions – it poses little threat to the inhabitants of Réunion.
The types of things put in place to prevent loss & damage from the volcano erupting: It is monitored by geophysical sensors (tiltmeters, extensometers, differential GPS receivers, etc.).  The data is then sent to the Piron de la Fournaise Volcano Observatory, northwest of the volcano. These are the levels of alert:

Pre-alert: Warnings about possible eruptions; hikers accessing the caldera are warned about possible developments.

Level 1: An eruption will occur soon; the public may not access the caldera until specialists have examined the situation and set pathways for those willing to admire the eruption.

Level 2: An eruption is occurring inside the caldera. Access to the caldera is restricted to authorized personnel only.

Level 3: An eruption is occurring or will occur soon outside of the caldera; some villages may have to be evacuated for safety.

What i believe should be in place in monitoring a volcano: NIL

Ocrober 2010 Eruption