Board Thread:Morrowind/@comment-75.75.80.173-20140424025936/@comment-98.244.129.69-20150320060513

Personally, I have understood it as, the Red Year was when the largest and intial eruption occured (probably with a VEI 7+) and Red Mountain remained in a state of near-constant eruption for that entire year. Whether it is still erupting or not I am not sure, but I do know it is still active because of the large amount of ash and gas it is still releasing. It is quite possible there is also some minor seismic activity still happening.

Immediate effects came in the the destruction of several cities and towns, such as; Gnisis, Balmora, Caldera, Ald'ruhn and Sadrith Mora.

As for long term effects, I imagine that the copious amounts of ash and gases in the air has lead to some respiratory problems and diseases. Not to mention the Ash Spawns. They may very well be stalking much of the land.

As for Vvardenfell being completely destroyed that is a question of some debate. In the books, The Red Year, Vol. I & II, we learn that some effort was spent on rebuilding towns and aiding the refugees. But between the destruction of Vivec City by the Ministry of Truth, which by the way is what is believed  to have caused the eruption, and the Argonian Invasion devastating much of the southern part of Morrowind, including Mournhold where some of the relief came from. I can imagine that the plans to aid Vvardenfell either took backstage to the more pressing issues or where abandoned all together.

But we also have to remember that the Dunmers are a very stubborn race. And I cannot see many of them, especially the Ashlanders, just up and abandoning their homes and land. While it is true that many did flee to Solstheim and Windhelm, the more stubborn individuals most likely stayed behind.