Sinabung Eruption Leaves 14 Dead, Thousands Evacuated

Sumatra volcano in deadly eruption

Mt Sinabung Erupted three times on Saturday leaving at least 14 people dead, including a group of school children from Medan on a science trip, and three others critically injured. Authorities were again forced to evacuate tens of thousands of people from 16 villages from the 5km – 7km exclusion zone near the volcano.

“This is the first direct impact of the Mt. Sinabung eruptions. Before the Saturday incident, the ongoing eruptions have already claimed the lives of 31 evacuees, as a result of various illnesses such as breathing difficulties, depression, asthma and hypertension.” Jakarta Post reported.

Some 14,000 of more than 30,000 evacuees had just been allowed to return home on Friday, following earlier eruptions.

Villagers flee as Mt Sinabung spews plumes of hot ash and smoke engulfing at least 16 villages. Photo credit: ANTARA /Irwansyah Putra. Image may be subject to copyright. More images…

The volcano became restive in 2010, after more than 400 years of dormancy, and has been erupting sporadically since.

Approximate location of Sinabung is marked  on the map by FEWW. Mount Sinabung is one of Indonesia’s 130  active volcanoes

Sinabung Volcano: Summary of Details

Country: Indonesia
Region: Sumatra
Volcano Type: Stratovolcano
Volcano Status: Holocene
Last Known Eruption: Unknown [1600?]
Summit Elevation: 2,460m
Latitude: 3.17°N Longitude: 98.392°E
Source: GVP

Sinabung is located in Group K Volcanoes

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

The PVMBG categorizes Sinabung as a type A volcano, or those that have erupted since 1600. Type B volcanoes have not erupted since 1600 but show signs of activity, and type C are those that have not erupted in recorded history.

Indonesian Volcanoes

Indonesian Volcanoes have been responsible for a number of cataclysmic explosions in modern history.

An 1888 lithograph of the 1883 violent explosion of Krakatau.

Based on their models, our colleagues at EDRO forecast that volcanic activity on the island of Sumatra could cause the collapse of Singapore. However, they have not disclosed any further detail.

Mt Sinabung erupted explosively again on November 12, 2013 for a second time in 9 days. Image credit: CRIonLine via Xinhua. More images…

Chronology of Recent Eruptions

• Mass Evacuations as Sinabung Erupts Again January 8, 2014
• Mass Evacuation Ordered as Mt SINABUNG Put on Red Alert November 24, 2013
• A Second Indonesian Volcano Erupts Posted on November 19, 2013
• Sinabung Volcano Explodes November 3, 2013
• Thousands Flee Mount Sinabung Eruption September 16, 2013
• 22 Indonesian Volcanoes Remain on High Alerts Posted on 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

• Sinabung Getting More Serious September 7, 2010
• Sinabung Erupts Again – Strongest Explosion to Date September 7, 2010

• Sinabung Erupts Again August 30, 2010
• Mount Sinabung Erupts August 29, 2010

ETNA Erupts Spectacularly

Vulcan, the god of fire, signals 2013 intentions

Mount Etna, Europe’s highest volcano, erupted spectacularly shooting a fountain of fire into the air.

Video by Klaus Dorschfeldt

Italy’s highest and most voluminous volcano, Mt Etna stands 3,333 tall overlooking Catania, Sicily’s second largest city.

Repeated eruptive episodes at Etna, including intermittent emissions of small quantities of ash have been observed from both the New Southeast Crater (NSEC) and Bocca Nuova Crater since February 2, 2013, GVP cited  Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology.

Related Links

• FEWW Volcano Links
• Volcanoes
• FEWW Earthquake Links

.

February 20, 2013 – DISASTER CALENDAR SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,116 Days Left 

Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,116 Days Left to ‘Worst Day’ in the brief Human  History
• The countdown began on May 15, 2011 …

GLOBAL WARNINGS

• WARNING: Human impact 2.85 x Earth’s diminishing carrying capacity
• WARNING: RAPID PLANETARY DECLINE IN PROGRESS!
• Europe: The First Phase of Collapse Has Started 
• United States: The First Phase of Collapse Has Begun

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

Eyjafjöll Eruption – LATEST

Latest available images of Eyjafjöll eruption

The following images pertain to Iceland’s 0.5-km long volcanic fissure on the northern side of Fimmvörðuháls, east of the Eyjafjallajökull ice cap, which began erupting on March 20, 2010.

Background:

• Icelandic Volcano Erupts – UPDATE
• Volcano erupts near Eyjafjallajoekull, Iceland
• Icelandic Volcano Erupts – VIDEO UPDATE

Lava flow map 1, March 22, 2010. For credit see inset. Click image to enlarge.

Lava flow map 2, March 24, 2010. For credit see inset. Click image to enlarge.

Aerial photo of Fimmvörðuháls on Eyjafjallajökull, 22nd March 2010, between 8 and 9 o’clock. Steam is caused by lava melting snow. © Ólafur Sigurjónsson

From Heljarkambur, looking down into Hrunagil, 22nd March 2010 at 16:00. Lava flows into the gully. The snow is covered with ash. Photo: Einar Kjartansson. Image may be subject to copyright. Source: Icelandic Met Office

Hrunagil 15th July 2007, just south of Heljarkambur. Mudcovered ice at the bottom of the gully. Photo: Einar Kjartansson.  Image may be subject to copyright. Source: Icelandic Met Office.

The new mountain rises behind the crater. Photo by Páll Stefánsson. (Undated, but cover story published on March 26, 2010.) Source: Iceland Review. Image may be subject to copyright.

Automatic Earthquake Location Map of Iceland.  Most of the recent seismic activity has occurred near the  Eyjafjallajokull Glacier, with a few shock occurring close to the position of Katla, which is buried under the Myrdalsjökull icecap.  ©The Icelandic Meteorological Office

Videos:

• Hrunagil (video)
• Iceland TV RUC

More Detailed Information:

• Introduction to the geology and geodynamics of Iceland as PDF-file (2 MB)
• Eyjafjallajokull Volcano – GPS Time Series (by Sigrún Hreinsdóttir)
• Results from observations flights over the eruption site 21 and 22 March 2010 (pdf file compiled by Eyjólfur Magnússon)
• Plot showing the displacement (pdf file – data from Sigrún Hreinsdóttir, runa@hi.is)
• Katla and Eyjafjallajökull Volcanoes

Related Links:

• Volcanoes
• FEWW Volcano Links
• Eruption Caught on Video by Iceland Coast Guard (WMV)

Iceland Review (Online Publication in English)

• New Iceland Mountain Needs a Name

Related Icelandic Institution

• http://en.vedur.is/
• http://www.earthice.hi.is/

Icelandic Volcano Erupts – UPDATE

Eruption at Eyjafjöll is consistent with recent global patterns of volcanism and tectonism. Wild eruptions may occur in Iceland and elsewhere—Fire-Earth

Eyjafjöll Volcanic System Erupts

Eyjafjallajökull volcanic system erupted in the south of Iceland, forcing up to five hundred people to evacuate the area, prompting the authorities to declare a state of emergency and imposing a NO FLY Zone  over much of Icelandic airspace.

Background: Volcano erupts near Eyjafjallajoekull, Iceland

At least three flights en-route Reykjavik from the US were ordered back to Boston, and up to 1,500 are currently stranded in the Reykjavik airport.

Where the Eruption Occurred

Location of the Eruptive Fissure. Source: Nordic Volcanological Center. Click image to enlarge.

How Eruption Occurred

Eruption began at 23:52UTC on 20 March 2010 at  the Eyjafjallajökull volcanic system (also known as Eyjafjöll volcano). A red cloud appeared above the volcano, which lightened up the sky above the eruptive fissure. “The eruption was preceded with intense seismicity and high rates of deformation in the weeks before the eruption, in association with magma recharging of the volcano. Immediately prior to the eruption the depth of seismicity had become shallow, but was not significantly enhanced from what it had been in the previous weeks. Deformation was occurring at rates of up to a centimetre a day since March 4 at continuous GPS sites installed within 12 km from the eruptive site.” IESUI reported.

“The eruption broke out with fire fountains and Hawaiian eruptive style on about 500 m long NE-SW oriented eruptive fissure at N63º38.1′, W19º26.4′ on the northeast shoulder of the volcano at an elevation of about 1000 m. It was observed from air from 4-7 A.M. on March 21. Lava flows short distance from the eruptive site, and minor eruption plume at elevation less than 1 km was deflected by wind to the west. Volcanic explosive index (VEI) is 1 or less. Tephra fall is minor or insignificant. The eruption occurs just outside the ice cap of Eyjafjallajökull, and no ice melting is occurring at present.”

Surface temperature satellite image taken by MODIS shows the location of the eruption. Source: NASA via Nordic Volcanological Center. Click image to enlarge.

Source: Nordic Volcanological Center. Click image to enlarge.

The eruption occurred at a fissure on a 2 km wide pass of ice-free land between Eyjafjallajökull and its large neighbor Katla volcano which is buried under Myrdalsjökull ice cap. “Katla volcano is known for powerful subglacial phreatomagmatic eruptions producing basaltic tephra layers with volumes ranging from ~0.01 to more than 1 cubic kilometer.” Institute of Earth Sciences at University of Iceland (IESUI) reported.

Eyjafjallajökull is known to have erupted at least three times in the last 1100 years (settlement of Iceland). “The most recent began in December 1821 and lasted intermittently for more than a year. The neighbouring volcano Katla erupted then on 26 June 1823. Other eruptions include an eruption in 1612 or 1613, and about 920 A.D.”

Eyjafjallajökull is known for several episodes of unrest, “with documented sill intrusions in 1994 and 1999.”

The 2.5-km-wide summit caldera of Eyjafjöll located west of Katla volcano. Photo by Oddur Sigurdsson, 1992 (Icelandic National Energy Authority). Click image to enlarge.

Seismic Activity

Eyjafjallajökull has been experiencing intensive Seismic activity since late February with most of the shocks occurring at 7 to 10 km depth. “On March 19th a seismic swarm began east of the top crater, originating between 4 and 7 km depth.” Iceland Met Office reported.

“On March 19th a seismic swarm, began east of the top crater, originating between 4 and 7 km depth. The activity migrated eastwards and towards the surface on Saturday, March 20th.”

What Local Experts Say

Scientists at Nordic Volcanological Center say further volcanic activity in the area may be imminent, based on the fact that three previous eruptions at Eyjafjallajokull had all primed the powerful Katla volcano to erupt.

“What we know is that an eruption in Eyjafjallajokull seems to be a trigger for Mt Katla,” geophysicist Pall Einarsson said.

“The volcano has been inflating since the beginning of the year, both rising and swelling, even though we were seeing increased seismic activity, it could have been months or years before we saw an eruption like this.”

Einarsson believes that an eruption at Mt Katla would be a much greater and more serious event because molten lava would melt the glacier causing large-scale flooding.

Geophysicist Magnus Gudmundsson says it’s impossible to predict how long the Eyjafjallajokull eruption could last. “It could end tomorrow, it could go on for a year or two, but this is a small eruption.”

More facts about Icelandic Volcanoes:

• Mt Katla last erupted in 1918.
• The most recent eruption at an Icelandic volcano occurred in 2004.
• Eyjafjallajokull Volcanic System was dormant since 1821.
• Iceland has experienced 21 eruptions in the past 50 years.
• Only one of the 21 eruption caused serious damage  when a volcano erupted in Westmann islands in 1973.

Map of Iceland Earthquakes (Last 48 hours) – Icelandic Met Office

© Veðurstofa Íslands

Related Links:

• Volcanoes
• FEWW Volcano Links
• Eruption Caught on Video by Iceland Coast Guard (WMV)