evacuations
eklemetti | May 18, 2009
Al-Baidha volcanoAl-Qider volcano in Saudi Arabia. Image courtesy of Ahmed Al-Hussaini.
I've been searching for more information on the Saudi Arabian earthquake swarm reported last week. A number of Eruptions readers have also added some on-the-ground info as well.
UPDATE 12:30PM Pacific: Here is a brief update via Reuters India. They mention that five villages are being evacuated as a precaution. Beyond that, not much new information and it does feature this line that makes me shudder: "The region lies on a fault line, according to SGS, which declined to comment on current magma levels,…
eklemetti | May 17, 2009
El Misti in Peru, as seen from Arequipa.
As I like to remind people concerning volcanic hazards, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure. This is not to imply we can prevent volcanic hazards from affecting us, but rather that proper mitigation in the form of monitoring, planning, education and practice can save countless lives (and dollars) when a volcano erupts. Officials in Peru seem to believe this, as they recently ran for practice evacuations for residents around El Misti, in the southern part of the country. Jersy Mariño from the Instituto Geológico, Minero y…
eklemetti | May 15, 2009Volcano news ahoy, today brought to you by Islands.
Lake Kivu, located along the border the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda
A gorgeous satellite image (brought to us by the NASA EO) of a steam plume and ash from the ongoing eruption at Shiveluch in Kamchatka. The ash distribution stands out remarkably well on the white snow, with the central circle of ash near the vent/dome and then the wind-aided ash blanketing the terrain to the northeast of the volcano (and a little bit to the south).
Nature has a post reminding us that one of the big hazards at Nyiragongo/Nymuragira is not…
eklemetti | May 10, 2009
Manam in Papua New Guinea erupting in 2004
Five years ago, Manam volcano in Papua New Guinea erupted. The volcano is located on a 10-km island of the same name and when it erupted in 2004, it produced pyroclastic flows and lava flows to the tune of a VEI 4 eruption. It was decided that the 9,000 inhabitants of the island had to be evacuated but even so, five people died due to the eruption. However, there are still thousands of people in temporary care centers on the main island of Papua New Guinea. Tensions have flared with the local inhabitants, to the point that four former islanders have…
eklemetti | May 3, 2009
Chaiten erupting in May 2008. Image courtesy of ONEMI.
Speaking of anniversaries, this weekend is the one-year mark for the Chaiten eruption (in spanish) in Chile, the first eruption at the volcano in ~9,000 years. Yes, indeed, the rhyolite eruption that caught most everyone by surprise is still going strong one year later, with two domes growing within the caldera (in spanish). The eruption produced some of the most impressive and sustained ash columns in years (see below) - climbing to 16 km/9 mi, abundant lahars and pyroclastic flows from the emergence and growth/collapse of the domes and…
eklemetti | April 27, 2009
Mt. Slamet, Indonesia, with agricultural fields in the foreground.
I'll be brief, mostly because I'm still lost in a haze of jetlag and allergies, but ...
Mt. Slamet on the island of Java in Indonesia is showing signs of a "major eruption". Preparations have begun by the Indonesian government to evacuate people in the event that the volcano erupts, however, it is unclear when that might be. Agus Budianto, head of the volcanology unit at the Bandung, West Java-based Volcanology and Disaster Mitigation Agency, said this about the current activity at the volcano:
"Even though the earthquake…
eklemetti | April 21, 2009Well, after lamenting the slow volcano news, things are beginning to pick up again. Beyond the news of a potential increase in activity at Anak Krakatau, there are a few other newsworthy bits that have come up:
Mt. Kerinci in Indonesia
Mt. Kerinci in Indonesia is showing signs of eruption. The volcano is the highest mountain on the island of Sumatra, reaching 3,800 m / 12,400 feet and last erupted in March 2008. Its volcanic activity is marked by small (VEI <2) explosions of ash and tephra. Currently, the volcano is experiencing increased tremors and minor explosions that rained ash on a…
eklemetti | April 20, 2009
Anak Krakatau erupting in 2007.
There is a report out tonight that activity might be increasing at Anak Krakatau in Indonesia, however, it is unclear whether it is actually increasing or not. People are evacuating the coastal area of the Sunda Strait to Bandarlampung in fear that a major eruption of the volcano is on the horizon. However, the Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG) in Indonesia has not changed the alert status at Anak Krakatau and it remains at 2 of 4 (~Orange Status). The volcano has been erupting almost constantly for the last few years, producing…
eklemetti | April 8, 2009
Llaima in Chile erupting in 2009.
A quick note to pass along about the ongoing eruption at Llaima in Chile. The eruption did seem to be waning earlier in the week, but the news now is that debris from the eruption is partially blocking the vent. The cone of pyroclastic material (tephra) that has been ejected during the eruption is now overlapping the main crater, potentially blocking part of the vent ... and most people know what happens if you plug up a volcano that is actively erupting - blammo!
The SERNAGEOMIN is not certain that this cone of material (in spanish) will cause a more…
eklemetti | April 7, 2009
Llaima erupting at night in April 2009.
Brief update for those of you following the somewhat spectacular eruption (above and below) going on at Llaima in Chile. The latest reports indicate the eruption is waning (in spanish) with less ash and explosions (in spanish) being produced. However, ONEMI, the Chilean Emergency Office, continues to keep the area on alert. So far, at least 81 people have been evacuated (in spanish) during the eruptions that gained strength over the weekend and flights between Buenos Aires and Neuquén were suspended due to the ash.
It is interesting to note the…
eklemetti | April 5, 2009
Llaima erupting in April 2009.
Just a quick note about the eruption currently ongoing at Llaima in Chile. The volcano continues to explosively (and effusively) erupt, sending ash ~22,000 feet / 7,000 meters into the air. This eruption has produced 37 hours of intense eruption (in spanish) so far and the ash from the eruption is drifting into Argentina, almost 100 km to the SE of the volcano. More evacuations are being called for by ONEMI and so far 71 people have left the vicinity of the volcano due to fears of lahars and significant ash fall (In spanish, but it does provide video of the…
eklemetti | April 4, 2009Today looks to be a doubleheader of volcano news:
Redoubt
Image courtesy of AVO/USGS, taken by Rick Wessels. An infrared image of the north slope of Redoubt showing the hot, new dome material and hot block & ash flows confined to the valley.
At 11:30 AM yesterday, AVO put Redoubt back to Orange/Watch alert status after the volcano seem to settle down to small steam/ash plumes. Less than 12 hours later (at ~6:30 AM Alaska time), the volcano produced another large explosive eruption, sending an ash column up ~50,000 feet / 15 km and producing what seems to be a significant lahar that…
eklemetti | April 2, 2009
Image courtesy of AVO/USGS by James Isaak. Photo taken 3/31/2009.
No, this isn't Battlestar Galactica, but the same can be said for the Drift River Oil Terminal: this has all happened before and will all happen again. Coast Guard officials have (finally) decided to move ~6.3 million gallons of crude oil from the Chevron-owned Drift River Oil Terminal at the base of Redoubt. The oil terminal has been a flashpoint since Redoubt began to make noise earlier this year and even up until yesterday, it was unclear what, if any, action the Coast Guard might take with the facility. It had been shut…
eklemetti | March 30, 2009
Goma after the 2002 Eruption of Nyiragongo
The activity at Redoubt has captivated a lot of us, but in the grand scheme of things, its eruption are more likely to caused inconvenience and property damage rather than dramatically loss of life (unless something huge and unexpected occurs). However, the same cannot be said if Nyiragongo and/or Nyamuragira (a.k.a. Nyamulagira) in the Congo were to erupt. These volcanoes are close to the city of Goma, a city of nearly 600,000, not including refugees from the fighting in the region. Eruptions of Nyiragongo in 2002 prompted the displacement of 400,…
eklemetti | March 24, 2009
Image courtesy of AVO/USGS
AVO has posted a series of images taken around Redoubt and around the Cook Inlet since the new eruptions started the night of March 22nd. You can begin to see the extent of the ash fall, what the explosions have done to the Drift Glacier and the new deposits in the Drift River valley. Most of the images show a lot of meltwater mudflows and tephra deposits on the slopes of the volcano. They've also added images from satellite and radar sources that show the initial dispersal of ash from the eruptions throughout the area north of Redoubt.
Eruptions reader Akira…
eklemetti | March 16, 2009
Oldonyo L'engai, Tanzania
As with most disasters, the best way to prevent a Katrina-like catastrophe is preparedness. The best successes in volcanic mitigation have been in places where the combination of monitoring, communications and practice fit together like so many legos in a set, allowing for a calm and orderly evacuation when the eruption, or signs of eruption, began (e.g., Rabaul in 1994). This is why it is always heartening to me to see articles about places trying to implement hazard mitigation plans for their volcanoes. Two examples are in the news today:
(1) Officials in…
eklemetti | March 13, 2009
2009 has been a busy year for Volcan Galeras in Colombia. The volcano has erupted at least twice this year already vigorously enough to prompt evacuations of the area. Galeras does tend to see cycles of eruptive activity, the last one started in 2000 after seven years of quiet. Many times, the eruptions are more visually impressive than hazardous (see the picture above from January 2008 from INGEOMINAS).
Luckily, Galeras is also once of the most watched volcanoes in South America. The INGEOMINAS (Colombian Geological Survey) staffs the Pasto Volcano Observatory (OVSP) to monitor the volcano…
sb admin | March 12, 2009
Welcome to version 2.0 of Eruptions, the blog on volcanic eruptions and volcano research in general. I've been writing this blog (starting over on Wordpress) over the last year or so, but now it has found a new home here at ScienceBlogs. If you're wondering what to expect if you're new to Eruptions, I'll be bringing news of volcanoes that are erupting worldwide, distilling the scientific jargon, dispelling the misinformation and commenting on what the effects of the eruption(s) might be. I'll also try to bring in any volcanoes in the popular media that gets my attention (alas, it has been…
eklemetti | February 25, 2009
The people who remain in Chaiten face the potential for a devasting pyroclastic flow, so says Jorge Muñoz of the SERNAGEOMIN in Chile. The volcano is still producing large ash columns on Tuesday and a flyover of the dome forming inside the caldera has lead to the concern that a collapse on a larger scale than those seen last week could wipe out the town for good.
The government hopes news like this from volcanologists might convince the last remaining residents of Chaiten to leave, but no indication of this has come to pass. In fact, things sound like they're getting heated in the fight…
eklemetti | February 20, 2009
Galeras, in Colombia, appears to have entered a new cycle of activity as it has erupted for the second time in a week. A large explosion occurred this morning that was accompanied by falling ash and rocks (ballistic bombs) from the event. It is unclear how far the volcanic products travelled from the vent, but Colombian officials did raise the alert level back to red and ordered new evacuations.