An explosive eruption rocked La Soufrière volcano on the eastern Caribbean island of St Vincent on Friday following mandatory evacuation orders from the local government. There were no immediate reports of casualties from the burst that occurred just four days short of the 42nd anniversary of the last eruption.
Continue reading...Category Archives: Volcanoes
St Vincent rocked by explosive eruptions at La Soufrière volcano
National Emergency Management Organisation warned residents to leave and said ash plume had reached 20,000ft
The Caribbean island of St Vincent has been rocked by a string of explosive eruptions at La Soufrière volcano, which spewed clouds of ash miles into the air a day and forced thousands to flee for safety.
Related: Saint Vincent orders evacuations as volcanic eruption appears imminent
Continue reading...Saint Vincent volcano shows signs of eruption being imminent – video
Seismologists have warned La Soufrière could erupt in a matter of hours or days and the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent has declared a red alert and issued an evacuation order.
Video posted on social media showed a plume of smoke towering above the volcano, which is the highest point in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Monitoring stations reported long earthquakes, which suggested that fresh magma was trying to reach the surface, and indicated that the volcano was moving to 'an explosive stage'
Continue reading...‘We monitor its every breath’: inside Mount Etna’s war room
In the city of Catania, at the foot of the volcano, scientists are trying to explain its recent unusual behaviour
When his phone rang at 3.22am last Wednesday, 50-year-old Giuseppe Salerno, the head of volcanologists at Catania’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), was already up after a thundering rumble had awoken many of the city’s inhabitants. The call came from the headquarters of the INGV where, a few seconds before that disturbance, seismic waves on one of the 40 monitors in the operations room seemed to jump off the screen. For the 14th time in less than a month, Mount Etna had sent another reminder that it is one of the world’s most active volcanoes.
Etna, 3,300 (10,800ft) metres above sea level, has been in explosive form in recent weeks, spewing incandescent magma and a copious shower of ash that has reached as far as Catania. Since 16 February, with fastidious precision, every 48 hours the volcano has put on a firework display with lava fountains reaching as high as 2,000 metres.
Continue reading...Iceland volcano: eruption under way on mountain near Reykjavik – video report
A volcanic eruption began in south-west Iceland near the capital, Reykjavik, on Friday. More than 40,000 earthquakes have occurred on the peninsula in the past four weeks, a huge jump from the 1,000-3,000 registered each year since 2014. Unlike the eruption in 2010 of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, which halted approximately 900,000 flights and forced hundreds of Icelanders from their homes, this eruption is not expected to spew much ash or smoke into the atmosphere
Continue reading...Iceland: aerial footage shows volcanic eruption near Reykjavik – video
A long-dormant volcano in Fagradalsfjall, near Reykjavik in south-west Iceland, flared to life on Friday night, spilling lava down two sides in the area's first volcanic eruption in nearly 800 years. Initial aerial footage posted on social media by the Icelandic Meteorological Office showed a relatively small eruption so far, with two streams of lava running in opposite directions
Continue reading...Iceland volcano: eruption under way in Fagradalsfjall near Reykjavik
No-fly zone established and public advised to stay away from area as red cloud lights up night sky
A volcano has erupted in Iceland near the capital Reykjavik after thousands of small earthquakes in the area in recent weeks, the Icelandic meteorological office has said.
A red cloud lit up the night sky after the eruption began in Fagradalsfjall on Friday about 40km (25 miles) from the capital Reykjavik. A no-fly zone has been established in the area.
Continue reading...‘I’m not scared, just tired’: Icelanders lose sleep over earthquake tremors
Scientists call it an unprecedented seismic event – but residents dread an imminent volcanic eruption
Icelanders are yearning for some undisturbed shut-eye after tremors from tens of thousands of earthquakes have rattled their sleep for weeks in what scientists call an unprecedented seismic event, which might well end in a spectacular volcanic eruption.
“At the moment we’re feeling it constantly. It’s like you’re walking over a fragile suspension bridge,” said Rannveig Gudmundsdottir, a lifelong resident in the town of Grindavik.
Continue reading...Mount Etna: footage captures volcano erupting at night, illuminating sky – video
Spectacular eruptions of red lava from Mount Etna, on the Italian island of Sicily, continued overnight from Monday into Tuesday, illuminating the night sky. The volcano’s lava fountains soared to 1,500 metres, according to the Etna Observatory at Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology
Continue reading...Mount Etna illuminates night sky with 1,500-metre lava fountain
Europe’s most active volcano produces one of most striking eruptions in decades
Mount Etna’s spectacular eruptions reached a peak on Monday when the volcano’s lava fountains soared to 1,500 metres – a display described by one expert as “one of the most striking in the last few decades”.
Europe’s most active volcano has been on explosive form in recent weeks, spewing incandescent magma and a copious shower of ash, reaching as far as Catania.
Continue reading...Mount Etna erupts in spectacular fashion – in pictures
Europe’s most active volcano has been on explosive form, with high lava fountains and several flows of incandescent magma, together with a copious shower of ash and lapilli that reached as far as Catania
Continue reading...Indonesia’s Mount Merapi volcano erupts – in pictures
The country’s most active volcano has unleashed a river of lava, searing gas and ash down its 3,000m slopes on Java island, threatening vulnerable villages
Continue reading...Java’s ring of fire rumbles on: Indonesian volcanoes erupt – in pictures
Volcanoes in Java continue to show worrying signs, with authorities closely monitoring seismic activity as they spew lava and ash many kilometres into the atmosphere.
At 3,676 metres (12,060 feet), Mount Semeru in East Java is one of the highest volcanoes in Indonesia. Mount Merapi in central Java is a 2,929-metre (9,610-foot) active volcano with a hiking trail to its summit and a surrounding national park. Both continue to trouble authorities.
On 16 January 2021, the Semeru volcano observatory issued a notice for aviation warning of an ash cloud moving to the north-east with an ash cloud top at around 5,676 metres (18,163 feet) above sea level, but it may be higher than what can be observed clearly.
Here’s a look at this month’s eruptions
Philippines’ Taal volcano, one year on – in pictures
When Taal volcano, a popular tourist site in Batangas, erupted a year ago 5,000 people fled the island. It’s still considered dangerous. The government bans former residents from returning but some still live there in tents
Continue reading...Lava flows inside Hawaii volcano crater after explosion – video
A lava dome fountain formed inside a lava lake inlet after Hawaii's famous Kilauea volcano erupted in December 2020. Footage from inside the Halema’uma’u crater was filmed by the US Geological Survey
- Kilauea volcano erupts on Hawaii's Big Island
- Kilauea volcano erupts on Hawaii's Big Island – video report
Kilauea volcano erupts on Hawaii’s Big Island – video report
The Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island erupts late on Sunday, shooting a steam cloud into the atmosphere for about an hour. The eruption happened in Halema’uma’u crater, the US Geological Survey said. Kilauea is in the Hawaii Volcanoes national park
Continue reading...Kilauea volcano erupts after earthquake on Hawaii’s Big Island
During it’s last eruption in 2018 Kilauea spewed lava for four months, destroying 700 homes
The Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island has erupted.
The eruption began late on Sunday in the Halema’uma’u crater, according to the US Geological Survey. Kilauea is in the Hawaii Volcanoes national park.
Continue reading...Indonesian volcano Mount Ili Lewotolok erupts, closing airport
No injuries reported but authorities create exclusion zone around the crater
Indonesia’s Mount Ili Lewotolok erupted on Sunday, releasing a column of smoke and ash 2.5 miles (4km) into the sky, triggering a flight warning and the closure of the local airport.
There were no reports of injuries or damage from the eruption in a remote part of the south-east Asian archipelago. But authorities raised the volcano’s alert status to its second-highest level as they warned of possible lava flows.
Continue reading...New Zealand scientists invent volcano warning system
Researchers claim system could save lives in situations like the Whakaari/White Island eruption in 2019, which killed 21 people
New Zealand scientists say they have invented a warning system to predict volcanic eruptions that may prevent future tragedies such as the blast that killed 21 people on White Island/Whakaari in 2019.
University of Auckland academics David Dempsey and Shane Cronin say their research “shows patterns of seismic activity before an eruption that make advance warning possible”.
Continue reading...Record rain triggered 2018 Kīlauea volcano eruptions, says study
Research on events in Hawaii suggests climate crisis could increase eruptions around world
The spectacular eruptions of the Kīlauea volcano in Hawaii in 2018 were triggered by extreme rainfall in the preceding months, research suggests.
Scientists say the finding raises the possibility that climate breakdown, which is causing more extreme weather, could lead to an increase in eruptions around the world.
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