Guatemala’s Santiaguito volcano continues to erupt

Santiaguito volcano rains ash over western Guatemala

On 20 April, INSIVUMEH reported explosions from Santa María’s Santiaguito, which produced ash plumes rising to altitudes of 2.8-3.4 km (9,200-11,200 feet), Global Volcanism Program said.

On Monday 26, April the volcano erupted violently sending a plume of ash 8.3 km (27,300 feet) a.s.l., news articles reported.

The volcano has calmed since Monday’s violent burst, however, it’s still erupting, according to disaster response agency spokesman David De Leon, AP said.

De Leon was quoted as saying that the eruption had damaged local flower harvests, though no injury was caused. A no-fly  ban was imposed 20 kilometers from the volcano  schools were closed in 10 communities as a precaution.

Formed during a catastrophic eruption in 1902, Santiaguito is  a 1-km-wide crater on the 3,772-meter Santa Maria volcano, located about 200 kilometers northwest of Guatemala City.

It’s believed that about 2,500 people were perished as a result of the 1902 eruption.

Santiaguito volcano, seen from the summit of Santamaria. GNU License.

Photo by Jon Fink, Arizona State University, 1988 (courtesy of Bill Rose, Michigan Technological University), via GVP.

Related Links:

• FEWW Volcano Links
• Volcanoes
• FEWW Earthquake Links

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More Activity at Soufriere Hills Volcano

Soufriere Hills Hellbent on Blowing Up Montserrat Island

In Montserrat: What Next? Fire-Earth wrote that Montserrat island could become completely uninhabitable by 2013 or earlier.

“Based on the pattern of volcanic activity at Soufriere Hills volcano since 1995, evidence of increased volcanism globally and a number of other  factors, the FEWW EarthModel forecasts the probability of Montserrat island becoming completely uninhabitable by by 2013 was equal or greater than 80 percent.”

Meanwhile, the Montserrat Volcano Observatory on February 21 reported that “the drainages leading down from Soufrière Hills, including the White River Valley, the Tar River Valley, and the Belham River Valley, were filled with fresh debris,” NASA Earth observatory said. The pyroclastic flows entered the sea via Aymers Ghaut more than a month ago, and the flows reached the sea near Plymouth on February 5, 2010.

Image # 1 (reportedly acquired by NASA on Feb 21, 2010)

Image # 2 (reportedly acquired by NASA on March 17, 200y – used for comparison)
A massive eruption of Montserrat’s Soufrière Hills Volcano triggered by a collapse of Soufrière Hills’ summit lava dome  covered large portions of the island in debris on February 11, 2010. Pyroclastic flows raced down the northern flank of the volcano, leveling trees and destroying buildings in the village of Harris, already abandoned after Soufrière Hills activity in 1995. The Montserrat Volcano Observatory reported that some flows, about 15 meters (49 feet) thick, reached the sea at Trant’s Bay, extending the island’s coastline up to 650 meters (2,100 feet). These false-color satellite images show the southern half of Montserrat before and after the dome collapse. The top image was taken on February 21, 2010, 10 days after the event. The bottom image shows the same area on March 17, 2007. Red areas are vegetated, clouds are white, blue/black areas are ocean water, and gray areas are covered by flow deposits. Fresh deposits are lighter than older deposits. On February 21, the drainages leading down from Soufrière Hills, including the White River Valley, the Tar River Valley, and the Belham River Valley, were filled with fresh debris. Pyroclastic flows reached the sea through Aymers Ghaut on January 18, 2010, and flows entered the sea near Plymouth on February 5, 2010, Montserrat Volcano Observatory said.

• More images of this event in Natural Hazards (EO)

Note: Links to Montserrat Volcano Observatory have been removed because the site is used for commercial advertising and promotion of tourism.

Related Links:

• Satellite Images of Recent Volcanic Activities
• Montserrat Soufrière Hills Resumes Activity
• Montserrat: What Next?
• Soufriere Hills Volcano Vents Ash