If you think about all of the horrific natural disasters that Rochester doesn't have to contend with, you could say that we live in a sort of paradise. You might contest that title when considering our annoyingly extended winters and the gray skies that blanket us most of the rest of the time. But in places like Western New York, where we do not exist in the thrall of volcanoes, earthquakes, or even hurricanes (typically), it's easy to forget the volatile hell that forever bubbles and brews beneath the Earth's crust and, fairly frequently, on its surface.

In many other areas of the world, people feel the effects of that hell rising to say hello. Japan's devastating March earthquakes and tsunami -- not to mention the one that just happened as I posted this -- were felt around the world due to modern technology. They left the rest of us agape, or scrambling to help. But when disasters strike, scientists take note, and try to figure out more and more effective ways for humans to weather future events. To provide a geological context for the Japanese earthquakes and tsunamis, the Rochester Museum and Science Center (657 East Ave.) offered a limited-run re-showing of the film "Ring of Fire" on its giant screen at the Strasenburgh Planetarium, which continues through Sunday, April 10.

Originally presented in 1995, "Ring of Fire" reveals, in 45 minutes of fiery drama, information regarding a few of the more than 400 active volcanoes along the fault lines of the 30,000-mile titular area, made up of the edges of continents and islands ringing the Pacific Ocean. When the film was made, half a billion people lived in these danger zones, which include the islands of Japan and Hawaii, areas in Chile, the city of San Francisco, and Skamania County in Washington state.

The film includes aerial and ground footage from and commentary about the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens, the 1988 eruption of Lonquimay in Chile, and the "time bomb" San Andreas Fault running under San Francisco, which was the cause of a 1906 quake that decimated the area, and a smaller 1989 quake that lasted only 15 seconds but did a lot of damage, particularly to neighborhoods built upon landfills instead of bedrock. A fascinating section of computer animation reveals the geologic forces that impact the ring, including the interior forces of an eruption, from the center of the Earth to the peak of the volcano.

The second portion of the film focuses on the resilience of life along the volatile ring, including the human cultures in Indonesia, where 140 volcanoes prove that "paradise and catastrophe go hand in hand," as one of the film's contributors put it. Viewers witness the daily lives of those who live side-by-side with active peaks, including the Indonesian volcano-lore-filled and stunning Kecak dance (as seen in the 2006 Tarsem Singh film, "The Fall"), as well as geothermal hot springs-turned-spas in Japan, and the annual evacuation drill held on the Japanese volcanic island of Sakurajima, on the anniversary of the devastating eruption of 1914. Heart-breaking in light of recent events, the narrator states that, "no people on Earth are as prepared for natural disaster as the Japanese."

"Ring of Fire" is recommended for ages 6 and up, and tickets are $10 for adults, $9 for seniors, college students, and RMSC members, and $8 for students (ages 3-18). The remaining screenings take place Thursday, April 7, at 2 p.m.; Saturday, April 9, at 2, 4:30 & 8 p.m.; and Sunday, April 10 at 1, 2 & 4 p.m. For more information, call 271-1880 or visit rmsc.org.