A Second Indonesian Volcano Erupts

Mt Merapi eruption follows multiple explosions at Mt Sinabung

“Mount Merapi experienced a phreatic eruption. Its status remains normal due to a lack of activity,” said Yogyakarta’s Geological Disaster Technology Development and Research Agency (BPPTKG).

On November 16, 2013 FIRE-EARTH warned: 22 Indonesian Volcanoes Remain on High Alerts

Mt Merapi was placed on “Yellow Alert,” or “Level II” of the country’s 4-level alert system, on August 3, 2013.

Latest Image of Mt Merapi. Credit: Badan Geologi.

“On Monday at 4:52 a.m. before the eruption, BPPTKG detected an earthquake in Ciamis, West Java, at a magnitude of 4.7 on the Richter scale. The tectonic quake is believed to have shaken the magma chamber of Mount Merapi causing it to release gas from below,” said BPPTKG spokesperson.

Merapi ejected volcanic materials about 2 kilometers into the air showering a 60-km radius area east of the volcano with ash, said the report.

The authorities have since imposed 1-kilometer exclusion zone around the volcano base.

The phreatic eruption on Monday was similar to one on July 22, said National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman. “But today’s was more powerful than the July 22 eruption.”

More than 600 families living in Kalitengah Lor, Kalitengah Kidul and Srune hamlets, in Glagaharjo village, Sleman regency, Yogyakarta, have been evacuated.

Hundreds of other villagers living on the western flank of Mount Merapi also fled their homes.

“The volcanic ash also affected residents in nearby towns. In Surakarta, Central Java, residents were shocked by the sight of volcanic ash covering streets, gardens and roofs. The ash rain continued until around 10 a.m. on Monday.” said the report.

“Surowedanan village in Boyolali, located around 17 km from the peak of Mount Merapi, was also covered by volcanic ash. ‘This morning, when I went out of the house at around 5 a.m., I saw ash everywhere,’ said Veronica Maria Sayektiana, of Surowedanan. According to Veronica, residents were wearing masks when they ventured out of their homes as the ash was still falling along with the drizzle.”

Merapi eruptions have killed hundreds of people in the past couple of decades.

Mount Merapi is one of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia. The 2010 its eruptions killed more than 300 people dead and forced about 400,000 people to evacuate their towns, while a 1930 eruption left at least 1,300 dead.

Mt Sinabung Update

The Indonesian ministry of transportation has diverted all flights to avoid routes near Mt Sinabung, located in Karo District, North Sumatra, which has erupted multiple times since last week.

The authorities say Mt Sinabung eruption on November 12 ejected  volcanic material that covered five districts destroying some 1,893 hectares of citrus plantations in Tanah Karo, which has impacted fruit production, said a report.

The explosive activity follows a series of most recent eruptions exhibited by the 2,460-meter high volcano that began in September 2013, leading to a significant eruption on October 24, which saw the volcano spewing smoke and ash to a height of about 3km above the crater summit, followed by other eruptions, especially the explosive eruption that occurred on Sunday, November 3.

Related Links

• 22 Indonesian Volcanoes Remain on High Alerts November 16, 2013
• Mount Merapi Eruption Satellite Image November 16, 2010
• Merapi’s latest eruption the deadliest so far  November 5, 2010
• Mt Merapi Erupts Again, 70,000 Evacuated November 1, 2010

• Mount Sinabung Erupts  August 29, 2010
• Sinabung Erupts Again  August 30, 2010
• Sinabung Erupts Again – Strongest Explosion to Date September 7, 2010
• Sinabung Getting More Serious September 7, 2010
• Thousands Flee Mount Sinabung Eruption September 16, 2013
• Sinabung Volcano Explodes Posted on November 3, 2013

‘Red’ Alert at Copahue Volcano

Copahue volcano activity could intensify

Authorities in Argentina and Chile have raised the alert at Copahue volcano  in Biobio region to the highest level after detecting continued seismic activity on Sunday.

A column of ash and smoke from Copahue volcano rises above the town of Caviahue, a popular ski resort in Neuquen province, Argentina, some 1500 km SW of the capital Buenos Aires. Photo: AFP. Image may be subject to copyright. 

• Copahue first erupted on Saturday, showering ash on nearby villages and prompting many to evacuate.

• “The intensity of seismic signals suggests the eruption in progress is on the smaller side [however] we cannot discount the possibility that the activity could turn into a larger eruption,” said a spokesman for the Chilean Geology and Mining Services.

• The 2,970-meter volcano is in SW Argentina’s Neuquen province, near the Chilean border.

• About 3,000 people live in the vicinity of the massive volcano, including  the residents of Copahue, the town of Caviahue and indigenous Mapuche communities.

• The ash plume rose  to a height of about 1.5km (5,000ft) above the crater, said Chile’s emergency office (ONEMI).

Related Links:

• Volcanoes [FEWW Links]
• Earthquakes
• Volcano Watch Weekly [6 May 2009]

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

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• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
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GLOBAL WARNING

• WARNING: Human impact 2.85 x Earth’s diminishing carrying capacity
• WARNING: RAPID DECLINE IN PROGRESS!
• Europe: The First Phase of Collapse Has Started 
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The Fiery Line Between Life and NO LIFE!

Volcanic Eruptions 

Image of the Day

The Devil is in the details

A source spatters lava on the east wall of Kilauea Volcano’s Pu`u `Ō `ō Crater. Credit: HVO.  Click image to enlarge.

Related Links:

• Kilauea SO2 emissions tops 10,000 tpd
• Heightened Activity at Kilauea Volcano

• Kilauea Volcano Continues to Discharge Lava
• Kilauea — Perhaps the World’s Most Active Volcano [Introduction]

• Huge amounts of lava continue to flow from world’s most active volcano in Hawaii, damaging an unoccupied home (Video)
• New Kilauea volcano land collapses explosively into ocean

• Emissions from Kilauea Volcano Brochure
• Lava Viewing Safety Card
• Department of Health Notification of Elevated SO2 and Particulate Levels

• Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park
• More images
• Maps

• Halema`uma`u webcam
• Pu`u `Ō `ō webcam

HVO Links:

Kīlauea Update | Mauna Loa Status | Deformation | Maps | Webcams | Images | Movies

Taal Volcano Alert Raised to Level 2 ‎

Taal Volcano on Alert Level 2

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has just raised the alert level of Taal Volcano from Level 1 to Level 2.

The volcano has shown increased seismic activity since late April, said Allan Loza of the Phivolcs Taal Volcano Observatory.

Phivolcs recorded 2 high frequency volcanic earthquakes over the past 24 hours and reported an increase in the size of earthquakes over the period.

“Initial result of precise leveling survey conducted yesterday at the southeast side of the volcano island showed further inflation by 3.0mm, ” Phivolcs said.

Related Links:

• Philippines Taal Volcano Could Erupt Anytime

Other Links:

• Messages From Earth’s Powerhouse
• Weekly Volcano Watch: 19 March 2009

• A New Era of Intense Volcanic Unrest May Have Begun
• Tonga’s Metis Shoal may be erupting
• Rumble III Volcano “blew its top!”

FEWW Volcanic Activity Forecast

• Sumatra’s Mt Kerinci Erupts

• Volcano Watch Weekly: 23 April 2009

• Weekly Volcano Watch: 16 April 2009
• Weekly Volcano Watch: 2 April 2009

• FEWW Volcano Links
• Volcanoes
• FEWW Earthquake Links

• Earth’s Climate: A Solar Powered System

Other Related Links:

• U.S. Volcano Status Map
• Elevated Activity Page
• U.S. Volcano Webcams

Recent Posts on Chaitén:

• Chaitén: A New Phase of Activity?
• Chaitén Still Awake!
• Chaitén: Volcano with a Mission?
• Chaitén: Volcano that Doesn’t Sleep

Pacaya Erupts, Covers Guatemala City with Ash

Pacaya Volcano Erupts, Prompting the Authorities to Close Down Guatemala’s International Airport

Pacaya volcano, located about 25 kilometers south of the Guatemalan capital, erupted late Thursday local time depositing as much as 8 cm of ash over parts of the city.

The authorities closed down La Aurora international airport until further notice.

The closest villages to the volcano have been evacuated.

Map of Volcanoes. Background Map: University of Michigan. Designed and enhanced by Fire Earth Blog. Click image to enlarge.

The 2,552-meter Pacaya volcano is in Group F on the above diagram.

The disaster could be exacerbated by heavy rains that would trigger flash floods causing deadly lahars and mudslides.

Major Volcanoes of Guatemala

Casualties and Damage:

Two people have been killed, and 59 others injured so far, with three children reported as missing.

At least 100 homes have been destroyed and many other damaged, as more reports come in. About 2,000 people have been evacuated.

Related Links:

• Volcanoes [FEWW Links]
• Earthquakes

• Volcano Watch Weekly [6 May 2009]

Copra on Taveuni

Copra

Copra is the dried meaty sections, or kernel, of the coconut palm (Cocos nucifera). Traditionally, Copra has been the most important crop produced on Taveuni, Fiji.

Coconut palm (Cocos nucifera). Source: SOPAC. Image may be subject to copyright.

Ripe coconuts are split with a machete and laid out to dry in the sun. (Source).

Taveuni

The third-largest island in Fiji, Taveuni  has a total land area of 440 square kilometers. The island is a gigantic shield volcano situated on the floor of the Pacific Ocean.  Taveuni is known as the ‘Garden Island of Fiji’ because of its copious flora, thriving on rich volcanic soil.

The massive shield volcano rises to 1241 m and is dotted by about 150 volcanic cones along a NE-SW rift extending the length of the island; some of the SW-flank vents are visible on this Space Shuttle image (with north to the upper right). Taveuni has been frequently active during the Holocene, and eruptions impacted island settlements in prehistorical time. At least 58 eruptions have occurred on Taveuni since the first known human settlements of the Fiji Islands about 950-750 BC; all of these eruptions affected the southern two-thirds of the island. A period of voluminous eruptions between about 300 and 500 AD caused abandonment of the southern part the island of Taveuni until about 1100 AD. The latest known eruption produced a lava flow at the southern tip of the island sometime between about 1450-1650 AD. NASA Space Shuttle image STS111-719-74, 2002 (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/). Caption: GVP

Volcanic Activity News

For New Volcanic Activity/Unrest See

SI / USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report

23 July-29 July 2008

New Activity/Unrest:

Anatahan, Mariana Islands (Central Pacific) | Chaitén, Southern Chile | Chikurachki, Paramushir Island | Cleveland, Chuginadak Island | Dukono, Halmahera | Karymsky, Eastern Kamchatka | Llaima, Central Chile | Manam, Northeast of New Guinea (SW Pacific) | Okmok, Fox Islands | Reventador, Ecuador | Soufrière Hills, Montserrat

“Garden of the Fugitives.” Plaster casts of some of the victims of Mount Vesuvius eruption [AD79] are still in the ruins of Pompeii. A few hours after Mount Vesuvius exploded Pompeii and its residents were buried under 3 meters of volcanic ash. Photo copyright: Aschwin Prein. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!

Ongoing Activity:

Batu Tara, Komba Island (Indonesia) | Bezymianny, Central Kamchatka (Russia) | Kilauea, Hawaii (USA) | Krakatau, Indonesia | Rabaul, New Britain | Sakura-jima, Kyushu | Santa María, Guatemala | Semeru, Eastern Java (Indonesia) | Shiveluch, Central Kamchatka (Russia) | Suwanose-jima, Ryukyu Islands (Japan) | Tungurahua, Ecuador | Ubinas, Perú

The skeletal remains of a young woman killed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79. The skeleton, unearthed from the ruins of Herculaneum in 1982, was named the “Ring Lady” because of the emerald and ruby rings found on the woman’s left hand. Two gold bracelets and gold earrings were also found by the woman’s side. (Source: Wikipedia)

Earthquakes in Alaska

Earthquake History of Alaska

The earth’s most active seismic feature, the circum-Pacific seismic belt, brushes Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, where more earthquakes occur than in the other 49 States combined. More than 80 percent of the planet’s tremors occur in the circum-Pacific belt, and about six percent of the large, shallow earthquakes are in the Alaska area, where as many as 4,000 earthquake at various depths are detected in a year. Excerpt from USGS.

Worldwide Earthquakes 2000 – 2008 [as of July 14, 2008]  – Image: USGS