As obvious as it may seem, the wind was blowing from the northwest when Vesuvius erupted, which is why so many people perished and an entire city was buried for hundreds of years. According to research, the wind should have been coming from the southwest. That would have meant that instead of covering the city as it did, the debris was blown away from it. It is incredible to consider how much death and destruction such a small factor actually caused, leaving a well-preserved Roman city in its wake.