Drone footage published on social media shows thick ashfall from the Taal volcano covering buildings, roads and trees in Batangas province in the Philippines. Clouds of ash were blown more than 62 miles (100km) north of the volcano, reaching Manila and forcing the main international airport to close. More than 500 flights were cancelled
Continue reading...Category Archives: Volcanoes
Lava gushes from Taal volcano in Philippines – in pictures
Red-hot lava gushed out of the Taal volcano in the Philippines after a sudden eruption of ash and steam forced villagers to flee en masse and shut down offices and schools. Clouds of ash blew more than 60 miles north, reaching the capital, Manila, and forcing the shutdown of the country’s main airport. There have been no reports of casualties or major damage from the eruption that began on Sunday
Continue reading...Taal volcano in Philippines emits giant plume of smoke and ash – video
Flights have been suspended and thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate as the volcano spewed ash up to nine miles into the sky, prompting a warning from the Philippines of an ‘explosive eruption’
Continue reading...New Zealand is a precarious country. Life here means facing that risk daily | Rebekah White
Volcanos and fault lines are a part of daily life, but should the tragedy on White Island make us rethink the dangers they pose?
One summer evening in Auckland I got the fright of my life. My house groaned, as though its wooden frame was crying out in pain. The sofa I was lying on began sliding back and forth. I looked up, expecting to tell one of my brothers to cut it out. No one was there. All at once I thought: “This is an earthquake. Auckland doesn’t have earthquakes. Auckland has volcanoes.” I ran to the window and jerked the curtain aside, scanning for the glow of fire in the night sky, then turned on the news. I was terrified. It was finally happening.
It wasn’t. (Just an earthquake, after all, a puny 4.5 on the Richter scale.)
Continue reading...The unanswered questions behind New Zealand’s volcano tragedy
It’s the worst burns incident in New Zealand history, with more than a dozen fatalities and lives still hanging in the balance. Now questions are being asked about how and why it happened. Reporters Eleanor Ainge Roy and Stephen D’Antal discuss how the week unfolded, and the long road ahead to understanding this tragedy
To learn more about this story read Melissa Davey’s piece on the long road ahead for the injured survivors, and Eleanor Ainge Roy’s reporting on how the local Maori people feel about Whakaari.
Continue reading...White Island volcano victims cannot bring civil lawsuits for negligence
New Zealand’s accident compensation scheme covers cost of treatment for all injuries and bars victims from taking legal action against operators
In New Zealand, where bodies still lie on a volcano after Monday’s eruption and survivors fill hospital burns units across the country to capacity, questions are mounting about who exactly was responsible for the safety of tourists on Whakaari or White Island, and, if failings are found, who will be held accountable.
Questions are also being asked about the wisdom of allowing tourists on to the island while it was assigned a volcanic alert level of two out of five, signalling volcanic unrest – a practice that has happened for years.
Continue reading...New Zealand volcano: police plan body retrieval on Friday despite eruption risk
Deputy commissioner says police have been facing increasing pressure from victims’ families to recover bodies from White Island
The New Zealand military will deploy to White Island at first light in an attempt to bring eight bodies home to their desperate families – despite a serious risk of the volcano erupting again.
Eight specialist military personnel will land on the island on Friday morning local time (Thursday evening UK) in an operation that is expected to last several hours, and involves multiple risk factors including the Island’s heightened seismic activity, the weather, and conditions on the ground.
Continue reading...New Zealand volcano death toll rises to eight
Two more people have died from injuries sustained during the eruption on White Island
Two more people have died from injuries sustained during the eruption of New Zealand’s White Island volcano, bringing the confirmed death toll from the disaster to eight.
Related: New Zealand surgeons working 'non-stop' to help volcano victims
Continue reading...New Zealand surgeons working ‘non-stop’ to help volcano victims
Country’s health authorities said to have ordered 1.2m sq cm of skin to treat burn injuries
Surgeons are working around the clock to help tourists who suffered horrendous burn injuries in the eruption of the New Zealand’s White Island volcano, health experts have said.
New Zealand health authorities have reportedly ordered 1.2 million sq cm of skin from the US in order to treat those injured: 27 of whom had burns to more than 30% of their body, with some having burns to 90-95% of their body. For context, experts say the palm of a hand is about 1.5% of the area of the body.
Continue reading...New Zealand helicopter pilot describes horror of volcano rescue
‘The burns were horrific … A lot of the people could not talk,’ says Mark Law
A commercial helicopter pilot who led a team that rescued 12 victims from the White Island volcano eruption has told how he believed he was their last hope of survival.
“We found people dead, dying and alive but in various states of unconsciousness,” said Mark Law, a tour company boss who flew to the volcano and spent an hour on the ground even as a pillar of ash towered above them.
Continue reading...‘The scale is devastating’: families and Ardern react after New Zealand volcano erupts – video
The families of those missing after the White Island eruption in New Zealand say they are 'standing together' as they wait for information about their loved ones. Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand's prime minister, said the scale of the disaster was 'devastating' and that reconnaissance flights had found no sign of life on the island. Police have launched an inquiry into the eruption after at least six people died and many more were injured
- White Island volcano: police open inquiry as sixth person dies
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- New Zealand volcano: helicopter pilot says he was victims' last hope
When I was growing up volcanic activity on Whakaari was continuous – yesterday was different
White Island’s eruption is a reminder that we are not nature’s master, but at its whim
At 2.11pm yesterday, as the Whakaari eruption was happening, I was out mowing my lawns. From my home at Te Kaha, a tiny settlement on the North Island’s east coast, you can make out the volcano’s sunken crater. The 300-metre dust cliffs frame the northern and southern edges, and in the centre is an east-facing pit where ancient birders and old sulphur miners once did their work.
On Monday the only workers and visitors on island were tour operators and tourists, several whom never made it back from yesterday’s destruction.
Continue reading...What caused the volcanic eruption on New Zealand’s White Island and why was there no warning?
Monitoring for hydrothermal eruptions is a huge challenge as the eruption is caused by steam, not magma, which is harder to track
Five people have been confirmed dead, 31 remain in hospital with injuries and eight are still missing after sudden volcanic eruptions on Whakaari/White Island off the east coast of New Zealand.
The island is a tourist destination and 47 people were on it when it erupted on Monday afternoon. Three of those rescued have now been discharged from hospital.
Continue reading...New Zealand volcano eruption: five dead after White Island blast – latest updates
Jacinda Ardern confirms that New Zealanders and tourists from Australia, the US, Britain, China and Malaysia are among missing on White Island/Whakaari. Follow rolling updates
- Five people dead and eight missing after New Zealand volcanic eruption
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Scott Morrison said it is “still too early to tell” the full extent of injuries of the 13 Australians in hospital around New Zealand but that “a number of them are in critical conditions” including those with “quite severe burns”.
Marise Payne said the Australians “are located in multiple hospitals around New Zealand, in Waikato, in Christchurch, in Middlemore in Auckland, in Tauranga and in Hart Valley”.
The challenge for the next few days is supporting those Australians who are so badly injured in hospitals across New Zealand, supporting their families and supporting the families of those who remain unaccounted for. We will be working closely with New Zealand authorities and with Royal Caribbean to provide any support that we can, and we will ensure that all assistance is provided to them and to their families.”
Australian prime minister Scott Morrison and foreign minister Marise Payne have given an update on the 24 Australians believed to be on White Island during the eruption.
Morrison said:
Of the 24 ones, we have been able to ascertain overnight and this morning that 13 of those Australians are hospitalised across multiple hospitals in New Zealand. There are 11 Australians that are still unaccounted for, and that we fear of the five deceased persons, that three of those, up to three are Australians, but that is not yet confirmed.
But with 11 Australians unaccounted for, three of those are feared to be amongst the five that have already been identified as deceased. This is a very, very hard day for a lot of Australian families whose loved ones have been caught up in this terrible, terrible tragedy. Can I also confirm that, after speaking with the New Zealand Prime Minister, that the operation has moved into recovery phase. There were four helicopters that were there as part of the recuse operation and assessing the scene, as the Prime Minister confirmed earlier, that were able to take a reconnaissance of the island at that time, and as New Zealand police said last night, there is not considered to be anyone on that island that remains alive ...
I fear there is worse news to come over the course of perhaps today or over the next few days. This is a terrible tragedy, a time of great innocence and joy interrupted by the horror of that eruption, and I would ask again that we refrain from any speculation about individuals at this time so we can ensure that we can contact and deal directly with families to ease what will be a highly anxious and highly upsetting time for them.”
Continue reading...Five dead and eight missing after New Zealand volcano erupts
Questions over why tourists were on White Island after experts noted volcanic activity
Five people have died and eight are still missing after an eruption on a volcanic island in New Zealand, the country’s prime minister has said.
Jacinda Ardern confirmed that New Zealanders and tourists from Australia, the US, Britain, China and Malaysia were among the missing and injured. The police do not expect to find more survivors on White Island, where two explosions in quick succession sent up a huge plume of ash that could be seen from the North Island.
Continue reading...New Zealand volcano: fatal eruption on White Island – video report
New Zealand’s Whakaari/White Island volcano erupted on Monday at 2.11pm as 50 people were visiting the country's most active volcano. At least five people were killed and authorities confirmed some people were still waiting to be rescued hours after the eruption on the island, as experts explained it was unsafe for emergency services to return
- New Zealand volcano: five confirmed dead after eruption on White Island – live
- White Island volcano eruption: dozens missing after fatal incident in New Zealand
New Zealand eruption: tourists stranded on White Island after volcano blows – video
Footage shows island in the Bay of Plenty coated with ash after volcano blew debris 12,000m into the air. The film also shows a downed helicopter and tourists stranded on the island waiting to be rescued by boat.
Continue reading...New Zealand volcano: one dead and ‘likely to be more’ after eruption on White Island – live
At least one person has died after volcano erupted suddenly while dozens of tourists were on the island. Follow the latest updates
Former prime minister Helen Clark has shared her condolences.
Terrible tragedy on White Island, an active volcano off NZ coast. My thoughts are with family of deceased & all injured & traumatised by the sudden eruption. Having walked to the crater on the island, I can well imagine the terror of what happened. https://t.co/Wlc5IaBVmX
Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs says it is making “urgent enquiries” to find out if any Australians were affected by the eruption. However, it does not have any information to share at present.
Continue reading...Volcanic eruption creates new island in Tongan archipelago
Underwater volcano sees old island disappear below the waves, replaced by a bigger one nearby
An undersea volcanic eruption in the Tongan archipelago has sunk one island and created another one that is three times larger, according to a report by geologists released on Thursday.
Taaniela Kula, of the Tonga Geological Service, said the new island is estimated to be about 100 metres wide and 400 metres long, and is situated about 120 metres west of its now-submerged predecessor, Lateiki island.
Continue reading...Ancient scrolls charred by Vesuvius could be read once again
US scientists say it may be possible to decipher words using new x-ray technique
When Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD79 it destroyed the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum, their inhabitants and their prized possessions – among them a fine library of scrolls that were carbonised by the searing heat of ash and gas.
But scientists say there may still be hope that the fragile documents can once more be read thanks to an innovative approach involving high-energy x-rays and artificial intelligence.
Continue reading...