VOLCANO THREATS AND RECENT ERUPTIVE ACTIVITY

2007 -
11/15/07 -
INDONESIA - Anak Krakatau volcano spewed smoke and flaming rocks hundreds of metres from its crater on Wednesday although it was not in danger of erupting. Its volcanic activity continued to fluctuate. Since Tuesday evening, a river of lava and red-hot rocks had been sliding down the slopes as far as 400 metres from Anak Krakatoa's crater. Despite scientists' estimations that the volcano was not especially dangerous at present, fishermen and visitors were warned to stay beyond a three-kilometre radius from the mountain because it would continue to rumble for some time. Meanwhile, at Mount Kelud "lava is constantly shooting out of the crater." The newly emerging lava dome is now up to 200 metres in diameter and stands 140 metres above the surface of the lava lake. Clouds of smoke billowed up to 2,500 metres into the air on Wednesday morning and ash covered a number of villages as far as 15 kilometres from the volcano's crater.

11/14/07 -
RUSSIA - Bezymyanniy Volcano - "The analysis of information, received during research of Bezymyanniy held recently showed that the latest eruption of the volcano on November 5 was caused not by movement of scorching magma masses in the entrails of the volcano, but collapse of the slope." The south-eastern slope of its dome was demolished - a significant sector of the volcano dome with the total volume of almost 200,000 cubic meters. Simultaneously, a fragment avalanche almost three kilometers long fell down from the slope of the volcano. In the last years Bezymyanniy was one of the most predictable of 28 active volcanoes of Kamchatka. Eruptions happened with a permanent interval of 5-6 months and were predicted with high accuracy of probability - up to 100%. And now only a month passed between eruptions registered on October 14 and November 5. Activation of the volcano came as a complete surprise for the scientists. "It is possible to establish change of dynamics of eruptions of the volcano Bezymyanniy and necessity of more careful study of its activity." Bezymyanniy is not dangerous for the settlements on Kamchatka peninsula. At the same time ash loops, saturated with small parts of magma material with the diameter of up to two millimeters, can threaten aviation. The volcanic ashes can cause poisoning of people and animals.

HAWAII - Kilauea volcano - the ongoing eruption from the east rift zone is a remarkable and fascinating sight. It is startling to see a river of lava coursing between broad levee walls that tower above the surrounding land surface. What the casual observer may not know, however, is that THIS IS A ONE-OF-A-KIND PHENOMENON. A perched lava channel HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE. This makes it particularly difficult to forecast what might happen next. When the channel fills up, lava spills over the sides. These overflows are thin and, as such, cool very quickly. They typically travel no more than a few hundred feet beyond the channel. Thus, each overflow serves to build the channel levee up a little higher. If this happens enough times, the lava channel becomes elevated above the adjacent land surface. Since the lava channel began overflowing two-and-a-half months ago, it has developed into a mile-long channel perched some 37 m (120) feet above the pre-existing surface. Occasionally, the channel wall is not strong enough to hold back the huge weight of the lava flowing through the channel. The result is the failure of the channel wall, usually near the end of the lava channel. We have seen several of these breaches since August, each resulting in a significant drop in the level of lava in the channel as lava drains out.

11/13/07 -
INDONESIA - MOUNT KELUT - scientists Monday warned residents living on the slopes of the brewing volcano in East Java to keep their distance, after it spewed ash and lava despite a downgraded alert. Authorities last Thursday modified a warning that Mount Kelut was about to erupt, after it appeared that the volcano was only experiencing a slow eruption and was unlikely to explode. Volcanic activity is still high, however, with tremors continuing and a lava dome, created by lava oozing through cracks, emerging from the crater like an "island" and continuing to expand. "Lava is constantly shooting out of the crater...The island is now 250 metres (yards) in diameter and stands 120 metres above the lake surface." Smoke plumed up to two kilometres out of Mount Kelut on Sunday afternoon and ash covered a number of villages around the volcano.

11/09/07 -
Scientists say Yellowstone caldera may be filling with magma - The floor of the Yellowstone caldera has risen at a rate FASTER THAN HAS EVER BEEN OBSERVED BEFORE, according to a new study that gives further proof that "ground deformation" at the park resembles the gently heaving chest of a slumbering giant. The likely cause of the uplift is a volcanic intrusion of molten rock that has moved upward 50 to 60 miles and flattened into a pancake the size of Los Angeles a few miles below the surface. Meanwhile, further research is needed to investigate the role hot water and gases play in the mysterious rise and subsidence of Yellowstone. The new findings in no way should be construed as a harbinger of a natural disaster. "There is no evidence of an imminent volcanic eruption or hydrothermal explosion. That's the bottom line. A lot of calderas worldwide go up and down over decades without erupting." Still, the floor of the Yellowstone caldera rose 7 inches during the 30-month study period that concluded at the end of 2006. The 2.8-inch-per-year rate of uplift was much more rapid than had ever been observed since scientists began recording Yellowstone's ground movement in 1923. Previously, the most rapid uplift occurred from 1976 to 1985, when the bulge grew less than an inch a year. "Our best evidence is that the crustal magma chamber is filling with molten rock. But we have no idea how long this process goes on before there either is an eruption or the inflow of molten rock stops and the caldera deflates again...We haven't found any connection between the movement of magma and changes in hydrothermal activity observed on the surface." The ground deformation has not been uniform across the caldera, so that the bulge appears to move around like a restless cat under the blankets on a bed. GPS readings near Yellowstone Lake's north shore revealed slight subsidence during the first half of 2004, while 20 miles to the north at Norris at caldera's periphery, the floor rose. This motion reversed in July 2004, with the lake station recording rapid uplift over the next year. "There is a thought it comes from migration of hydrothermal fluids." “The uplift is still going on today but at a little slower rate.” There is no way to know when it will stop. Yellowstone’s recent upward motion of 2.8 inches a year may seem small, but is twice as fast as the average rate of horizontal movement along California’s San Andreas fault. Modeling suggests the molten rock injected since mid-2004 is a nearly horizontal slab – known to geologists as a sill – that rests about 6 miles (10 kilometers) beneath Yellowstone National Park. The slab sits within and near the top of the pre-existing magma chamber, which resembles two anvil-shaped blobs expanding upward from a common base. The slab is about 38 miles long and 12 miles wide, but only tens or hundreds of yards thick. The slab likely resembles a large, spongy pancake formed as molten rock injected from below spreads out near the top of the magma chamber. The pancake of molten rock has an area of about 463 square miles, compared with 469 square miles of land for the City of Los Angeles. Steam and hot water contribute to uplift of the Yellowstone caldera, particularly during some previous episodes, but evidence indicates molten rock is responsible for most of the current uplift.

INDONESIA - Thousands of Indonesian villagers began returning to their homes after government scientists said Mount Kelud, on Java island, was now unlikely to erupt. "The volcano no longer has the energy needed for an explosive eruption that would threaten the lives of people living nearby." Four volcanoes on the archipelago have been spewing smoke or lava in recent weeks, including Anak Krakatoa, the island formed by the huge Krakatoa eruption in 1883. As well as Kelud, Indonesian scientists also issued recent alerts for Mount Soputan and Mount Karangetan, both on Sulawesi island, to the north-east of Java. At the same time, Anak Krakatoa, which is situated in the straits between Java and Sumatra island to the north, is spilling lava onto its slopes.

11/8/07 -
INDONESIA - A massive island that has risen from the crater lake of a steaming Indonesian volcano consists of new lava that has gradually erupted from its core, a vulcanologist said yesterday. Mount Kelut in Indonesia’s East Java has been on high alert for three weeks, with scientists fearing the peak could explode, putting at risk thousands of lives. The volcano has been making an “effusive” eruption, meaning the energy release has been gradual and not strong enough to dramatically tear through the frozen magma left behind after the last eruption, which killed 34. “As the energy is not quite strong enough, the lava has only snuck through the cracks and continuously grown inside the crater’s lake.” The lava dome is now 150 metres in diameter. The lava could stop growing and form a large dome on the mountain’s peak, or it could spill over the edge and rush down Mount Kelut’s slopes.

11/7/07 -
INDONESIA - An island that has emerged in the middle of the crater lake of Indonesia's Mt Kelut may have been effectively plugging the volcano but it could be dislodged, scientists warned yesterday. The peak in East Java, whose slopes are populated by thousands of people, was put on high alert on October 16 but has not fully erupted, puzzling scientists who say it is impossible to predict what may happen next. "The island was visually captured by our CCTV (closed-circuit television) on Sunday, with smoke now pluming up to one kilometre from it.” They estimate that the 100m-long island loomed 20m above the surface of the crater lake. The temperature of the lake has soared so high it has broken measuring instruments. They still could not determine whether the island was new product or old lava from the 1990 eruption that had solidified at the bottom of the crater lake, more or less acting as a cork. It appeared to have been pushed up Saturday night, when volcanologists mistakenly thought an eruption was occurring, so they abandoned their posts. Overnight, continuous tremors shuddered underneath Kelut, with dozens of puffs of steam or smoke shooting into the air. “We are not taking a chance yet to get closer to study the volcano, although we think it is mostly steam coming out. This could go on or it could be that the volcano is keeping its energy for a bigger eruption.” Kelut appears to have altered its normal eruptive behaviour. “There seems to be a change in the volcano's character, from historical explosive eruptions to an effusive or slow eruption." Authorities have been trying to evacuate people living in a 10km danger zone around the volcano's peak but many have refused to leave or they return to their homes during daylight hours. Since record-keeping began, Mount Kelut's eruptions have claimed more than 15,000 lives, including an estimated 10,000 in a catastrophic 1586 eruption.
Workers were rushing to complete a system of dams at Mount Kelud [both spellings, Kelud / Kelut, seem to be correct] fearing an eruption could send a wave of superheated mud, rock and ash surging down its slopes. Volcanologists have warned that Mount Kelud is on the verge of a major eruption, with highly pressurized magma forming under its crater lake and smoke clouds shooting a kilometer (half mile) into the sky. Cement dams up to 20 meters (65 feet) high and six meters (20 feet) thick have been under construction for several months to channel the possible hot mud flows away from villages. If the volcano erupts while construction is under way, workers will rush to a nearby elevated road for safety. Tremors were continuing under Kelud's crater, with bursts of smoke and soaring temperatures in its crater lake.

INDONESIA - The Anak Krakatau volcano in the Sunda Strait began to spew red-hot lava flares 500-700 meters into the sky from its southern crater yesterday. The volcano has been showing signs of increased activity for the past 15 days. From midnight to 6am Tuesday, the volcano produced 74 clouds of ash, followed by four deep volcanic quakes (lasting from 3-6 minutes), 20 shallow volcanic quakes and four tremors.

11/6/07 -
INDONESIA - On Monday, several volcanoes in Indonesia spewed hot ash, molten rock and clouds of dark smoke amid fears that a violent eruption could happen at any time. Mount Kelud, on the densely populated Java island, looked the most threatening as a dome of magma formed under a crater lake and soaring temperatures overheated monitoring equipment. "If it goes this time, it will be much larger than in 1990," based on the number of tremors and the lake temperature - both of which have soared beyond that of the period preceding the earlier blast. A few hundred miles away, Anak Krakatoa fired pumice and lava onto its slopes. At least one other of Indonesia's approximately 100 active volcanoes sent bursts of ash showering down on nearby villages. Experts said there was no connection between the heightened activity at the different volcanoes along the tropical archipelago.
INDONESIA - Rumbling Mount Kelud in East Java province spewed dangerous clouds of white smoke, containing CO2 gas and other poisoning gas on Monday. The shot of hot smoke reached up to 800 meters into the sky, while tremors, whose intensity had decreased, began to rise on Monday. It could be dangerous if the wind blows and carries smoke to the residential areas. Thousands of residents in the six-kilometer dangerous zone have been evacuated since the volcano has been on the top alert status last month. "The instrument recording the temperature was broken on Sunday due to high pressure. The latest temperature recorded was 77.2 degree Celsius."

11/4/07 -
INDONESIA - Mount Kelut - Seismologists issued a red alert on October 16 of an imminent eruption on East Java. Since Thursday scientists recorded 599 shallow tremors rocking the mountain's slopes, which indicated that magma pressure was increasing. Local residents in a 10-km (6.2-mile) zone around the volcano's crater are refusing to leave, citing the need to watch their homes and livestock, with many believing that if they keep quiet the volcano will not erupt. In an attempt to try and encourage them to safety, the government has set up outdoor cinemas and invited Indonesian pop stars to perform concerts, but locals have shrugged off warnings of a possible disaster.
Early on Saturday, centre officials said their monitoring instruments near the crater had shown an eruption, but this was impossible to confirm visually because of heavy cloud cover. Incessant tremors and a dramatic rise in the temperature of the crater lake prompted volcanologists at Mount Kelud to flee their post fearing for their safety. "Temperatures rose 2 degrees celsius in a day. This was an extremely sharp increase. On other volcanoes such phenomena would have resulted in heat clouds." Now Indonesia's volcano centre says Mount Kelud has not erupted. "There was no eruption. If there had been an eruption, our equipment near the crater would have been damaged."

11/2/07 -
INDONESIA - 4 volcanoes under eruption alerts & another has a lahar flood threat - Hundreds more people were evacuated from around Indonesia's Mount Kelud volcano in East Java yesterday after more than 600 hundred tremors were recorded in 18 hours. Authorities raised the alert at Mt Kelud, one of Indonesia's deadliest volcanoes, to maximum two weeks ago amid signs of an imminent eruption. “There have been more tremors than at the time we increased the alert to the highest level last month.” Magma is 700m below the crater and could shoot out if it has enough energy.
Meanwhile, thousands of people are at risk from volcanic lahar on Mount Guntur in West Java as dams built to collect the material on the slopes start to overflow. The amount of lahar, a mix of mud and lava, from Mount Guntur has swelled after heavy rains and as locals continued to mine sand and stones. “The volcano is active but there's no increased intensity. What we are concerned (with) is a possible flow of lahar from the dams. We already issued a recommendation for evacuation two weeks ago."
Indonesian officials were also closely monitoring three other volcanoes for increased activity. The second-highest alert has also been issued for Mt Anak Krakatau, which has been throwing up showers of ash. Alerts have also been issued for Mt Soputan, in North Sulawesi, which erupted last week spewing columns of ash 1000m, and Mt Karangetang off Sulawesi.

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10/30/07 -
HAWAII - Lava flowing from a new vent on Kilauea's eastern flank is now feeding into a lava tube that could allow it to flow farther and faster. Geologists say the formation of lava tubes can be worrisome because they insulate the lava, which has advanced 1.5 miles from the end of the open lava channel. But Hawaiian Volcano Observatory's daily assessment maintains that there's no immediate threat. That means thousands of lower Puna residents currently remain at a safe distance. There needs to be a steady supply of lava for it to travel a long distance, but the level of the channel has fluctuated over time. Kilauea has been erupting for 24 years. On July 21, a new outbreak of lava occurred to the east of Puu Oo vent. It was the first time lava erupted in the area outside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park since 1992.

10/28/07 -
INDONESIA - THIRD VOLCANO BECOMES ACTIVE - ANAK KRAKATOA - The Indonesian volcano known as the "Child of Krakatoa" has been spewing ash and smoke, prompting warnings of a possible eruption. The mountain in the Sunda Strait, 130 kilometres west of Jakarta, formed after the giant Krakatoa eruption of 1883 that killed tens of thousands of people and was the largest explosion in recorded history. "Activity at Anak Krakatoa increased yesterday [Friday] and there were several small eruptions. We have upgraded the alert level to the second highest." Anak Krakatoa is the third volcano to become active in recent weeks in Indonesia, a sprawling country of more than 17,000 islands. Indonesia has about 150 volcanoes. Krakatoa's massive 1883 blast, heard nearly 3,200 kilometres away in Australia, sent pyroclastic surges of gas and burning ash which, combined with a tsunami, wiped out 165 villages and killed at least 36,417 people. It destroyed two-thirds of the island of Krakatoa between Java and Sumatra.
Krakatau normally produces five tremors per hour. From Oct. 24 to 26, experts detected 20 tremors an hour. The volcano also spewed white-grey smoke plumes 80 to 200 meters high. Lava flow is yet to be seen so the status is not yet critical. The last time Krakatau was put on alert status was in 2000, when it emitted lava.

INDONESIA - MOUNT KELUT - A scientist warned on Wednesday that all indications pointed to the imminent eruption of Mount Kelut volcano on the Indonesian island of Java, despite few obvious signs of activity. Mount Kelut was put on high alert on October 16, triggering efforts to evacuate about 130,000 people living within 10 kilometres (six miles) of its crater. The mountain has been quiet for the past few days, with no drastic changes in the frequency and magnitude of volcanic and tectonic quakes affecting the area. The signs leading to an eruption usually follow the same pattern. "The trend is that the centers of the shallow volcanic quakes are moving closer and closer to the surface, and this is the normal pattern prior to an eruption. "They (the quake centers) are now less than one kilometre beneath the crater's floor but the mountain will only erupt when these are accompanied by shallow quakes of large amplitude and long, continuous tremors." Some villagers said they would not evacuate until told to do so by the 64-year-old spiritual leader. Geologists have said they expect an eruption of Kelut would lead to "heat clouds," searing gasses and volcanic debris rushing down the slopes. Kelud's temperature continued to rise on Friday, an indication that an eruption is imminent.

INDONESIA - MOUNT SOPUTAN - The erupting volcano on Indonesia's Sulawesi island began spewing hot lava on Friday, a day after shooting ash some 1,500m into the air, an official said, although nearby villages were still not being ordered to evacuate. Mount Soputan volcano, which lies in North Sulawesi province, likely was producing a small lava flow, but authorities were unable to spot it because the crater remained covered by clouds. Soputan has been at a Level 3 alert since its last eruption in December 2006 due to its "short duration activity" - meaning it only experiences tremors for short periods before erupting, as was the case on Thursday morning. A Level 4 alert is only given when an active volcano is threatening the safety of people living nearby, but the villages closest to Soputan are eight kilometres away. "Historically, the lava trails from this mountain are a maximum of three kilometres."

New evidence dug from the shores of the Bay of Bengal supports the radical idea that it was a series of monumental volcanic eruptions that wiped out the dinosaurs, not a meteor impact in the Gulf of Mexico.

10/21/07 -
Typhoon KAJIKI was 505 nmi SSE of Tokyo, Japan.
Tropical storm KIKO was 147 nmi WSW of Manzanillo, Mexico.

10/26/07 -
CANADA - Intense volcanic activity appears to be behind hundreds of tremors in British Columbia's Central Interior, but the chance of a volcanic eruption is minimal, experts say. Attention was drawn to an area about 100 kilometres west of Quesnel when a series of micro-quakes reaching a magnitude of 2.7 were recorded over a number of days early in October. A group of experts agree that the micro-quakes were likely caused by magma, or liquid rock, deep in the Earth's crust in the region around the Nazko Cone, a small dormant volcano west of Quesnel. They said the intensity has levelled off to an ongoing series of micro-quakes — about 50 to 60 per day — with a magnitude of 1.0 to 1.5, but that the risk of a volcanic eruption remained low. The Nazko Cone is considered to be the easternmost volcano in the Anahim Volcanic Belt, a 600-kilometre-long line of volcanic activity that runs from the northern tip of Vancouver Island to the Quesnel area.

ITALY - New Zealand and American scientists will join Italian colleagues next week for the first-ever systematic investigation of submarine hydrothermal activity in the Mediterranean Sea. Over the past nine years they have found up to 60% of the 90 submarine volcanoes between the Bay of Plenty and Tonga are hydrothermally active. This means hot mineral-rich fluids are being expelled into the sea at about 55 of the volcanoes along the Kermadec Arc. In addition, metal-rich mineral deposits and communities of unusual marine life occur at many of these seafloor vents. The focus in the Mediterranean is the Aeolian Arc, a near-circular chain of about a dozen submarine volcanoes north of Sicily. The project will shed light on the area’s marine geology, which is not well understood. The area has a rich volcanic history and is known as the cradle of volcanology. The cluster of volcanoes located around the Tyrrhenian Sea – Vesuvius, Etna and Stromboli – have been producing spectacular and destructive eruptions for thousands of years. Mt Etna in Sicily, the largest and most active volcano in Europe, is presently erupting. Stromboli is one of the most active volcanoes on Earth and has been in nearly continuous eruption for about 2000 years. It has given its name to a particular type of eruption – a strombolian eruption. Ancient seafarers knew it as the ‘torch of the Mediterranean’.

10/25/07 -
INDONESIA - Mount Soputan volcano on the northern tip of Indonesia's Sulawesi island has erupted, throwing columns of ash 1,000 meters (3,300 ft) into the air. The eruption did not appear to pose an immediate threat to residents, although ash had reached the nearest town. "From the data that we have, it is only spraying ash without other volcanic material." A few days ago the volcano was calm. The nearest village to Soputan, 2,175 km (1,351 miles) northeast of the capital Jakarta, is located 11 km from its crater. In August, Soputan also spewed ash and rocks. A local official said that no evacuation had been ordered. Last week, authorities evacuated more than 100,000 residents living within a 10-km (6-mile) zone around Mount Kelud volcano in eastern Java after warning it was liable to erupt.

10/22/07 -
INDONESIA - The risk of eruption at an Indonesian volcano on Java island has not passed and remains at high alert status, scientists said Saturday. "Tremors had calmed down from Mount Kelut since yesterday (Friday) but other indicators still show increasing magmatic pressure from the volcano's belly." Sensors sending real-time information from the mount's peak showed increased temperatures at the crater. Tremors rocked Mount Kelut for nearly an hour on Friday afternoon - usually a precursor of an eruption. Geologists have said the eruption would be comprised of "heat clouds" consisting of searing gases and volcanic debris rushing down the slopes, similar to the most recent eruption in 1990 that left 34 dead. Some 116,000 villagers have been evacuated from the fertile land around Kelut's slopes, but many have defied local officials' orders to stay away and returned home to tend their farms and to protect against possible looting. About to 130,000 people live in the 10-kilometre radius danger zone and a further 150,000 people live up to 30 kilometres from the crater.

10/21/07 -
PERU & CHILE - Volcanic structures monitored in the Andes via satellite show unexpected activity. The central part of the Andes situated between southern Peru and Chile bears 50 active or potentially volcanoes, spread along a 1500 km-long arc. These volcanic structures are very remote with abrupt slopes and are often cloaked in snow. Few studies have been made on them as such conditions make field surveying extremely difficult. Research projects on deformations of the earth crust, conducted in this region between 1992 and 2000, led to the detection of a long wavelength signal over the area's topography. This deformation would correspond to crustal inflation affecting the whole Lastarria-Cordon del Azufre complex. Although this volcano is not considered as active, as the last eruption dates back 9000 years, such inflation could express an underlying activity related to the dynamics of a functioning magma chamber. Between March 2003 and June 2005, new data led to measurement of inflation of about a centimetre affecting the crust over the whole Lastarria-Cordon del Azufre volcanic complex. A long wavelength regional-scale signal was found, covering a surface area of about 45 km long by 35 km wide corresponding to the entire volcanic complex. A short wavelength signal not previously identified was also revealed, but unlike the first, it was located at the smaller scale of the Lastarria volcano only. Two distinct hypotheses are envisaged to explain the emission of these two wavelengths. As the inflation measured at regional scale corresponds to a long wavelength signal, it has a fairly deep source, estimated by the geophysicists at between 7 and 15 km down. An inflation located at such a depth is highly likely to be generated by magmatic activity. The source of the short wavelength signal, located at about 1000 m beneath the summit of the Lastarria volcano, is more uncertain, however. Indications nevertheless suggest a link with the circulation of hydrothermal fluids. The hope is to obtain further information on changes of mass or density at depth, as a modification of gravity combined with a displacement of the terrestrial crust could indicate a filling or an emptying of a magma chamber and therefore confirm an underlying volcanic activity. If this turned out to be true, the Lastatria-Cordon del Azufre volcanic complex would be the only area under the Andes where the formation of large magma reservoirs has been demonstrated.

10/17/07 -
INDONESIA has raised the alert level for Mt Kelud volcano to the highest level, as residents started fleeing amid signs an eruption could be imminent. The number of volcanic earthquakes at Mt Kelud, 90km southwest of Indonesia's second-largest city Surabaya, had soared to more than 300 in a six-hour period from late morning. The alert level was raised to maximum “based on the seismic activity, deformation, visual observation and the temperature of the crater lake going up”. The crater lake has started to change colour indicating increasing sulphur levels. “On the east and the north of the lake, it has started to turn white with sulphur.” An estimated 350,000 people live within 10km of the volcano on Java island, growing coffee, sugar cane, pineapples and papayas on the rich volcanic soil or feeding their cattle on the volcano's slopes. “People are panicking as they are heading towards the evacuation areas. They are facing water and sanitation problems as the evacuation sites have not been properly equipped.”
On Oct. 7, locals were strengthening the levees that are supposed to protect them from boiling water that flows from the lake in the volcano's crater during eruptions. "Each river in the area has at least seven dams to hamper the flow of lahar (water and rocks). We are very well prepared for this. The dams will help people here feel more secure." "The volcano's explosive activity typically starts with a steam explosion - when surfacing magma meets ground water. Such eruptions produce hot mud flows, pyroclastic surges and flows."

RUSSIA - Bezymyannyi volcano, located in the Ust-Kamchatka District, erupted on October 15. Seismologists registered a sudden increase in activity of the volcano at 3:30 a.m. local time. Scientists think the giant volcano kept erupting for two hours. It threw out columns of ash to the height of 5 to 7 km. The ash shower covered dozens of kilometres around the volcano. The steam-vapour tail stretched 30 km from the crater. Eruptions of Bezymyannyi are distinguished by their explosiveness and shortness. The volcano activates once or twice a year. The last eruption happened in May 2007.

10/16/07 -
RUSSIA - Shiveluch Volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula may be about to stage a large eruption. The Shiveluch volcano located in the north of the peninsula has intensified its activity and threatens with a new heavy eruption. Lately the volcano activity has increased and a heavy eruption is supposed to occur; it is supposed to be as heavy as the eruption in 2005, when the burning hot lava stream, about a kilometer wide and 25 kilometers long, erupted from Shiveluch and rushed down its slopes burning everything on its way. The seismic stations have already registered more than 400 local earthquakes near the volcano. The scientists suppose that some seismic events were accompanied with emissions of gas and ash about four kilometers high. The eruption of the volcano began in December 2006. The massive gas and ash columns rise above its crater from time to time. The volcano is not dangerous for the nearby settlements of the peninsula; however the emissions of ash threaten aircraft and the melting snow sometimes causes avalanching onto the Kamchatka Territory roads.

CANADA - Possibility of volcanic activty near Quesnel excites scientists - Scientists are headed to an area 75 kilometres west of Quesnel to install seismological equipment aimed at determining whether a "swarm" of small earthquakes are evidence of a forthcoming burst of molten lava - potentially the first volcanic activity in the province of British Columbia in two centuries. "The earthquakes are continuing, even today. We should have some answers soon." Last Wednesday existing seismological equipment located at Thunder Mountain began recording earthquake activity. Since then, there have been more than 100 small earthquakes - most of them magnitude 1.0 or less on the Richter scale, but as big as 3.1 - including an average of one per hour over the past 24 hours. The activity is located 20 kilometers west of Nazko Cone, which last erupted 7,200 years ago and is currently being mined for scoria, used for light-weight aggregate, landscaping and ground cover, and in agricultural and horticultural applications as a soil additive. Upward movement could be evidence the lava is working its way to the surface, causing small earthquakes as it muscles its way through the earth's rocks. "We don't know if it's caused by magma at depth or if it's tectonic - just an earthquake in an UNUSUAL area, because we haven't seen earthquakes here before. It may turn out to be a little swarm of earthquakes in an unusual spot, but it may turn out to the be reawakening of a volcano, which is really exciting." Even if lava is on its way, it could take weeks or months to reach the surface. It took Mount St. Helens in Washington about two months to finally blow its top in 1980.

PHILIPPINES - Six new vents on the slopes of Bulusan Volcano in Sorsogon province were found by volcanologists from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology after an ash explosion early this month. Three vents were found to have been created at the southeast slope and another three at the northwest slope of the volcano. The addition of the six vents brought to nine the total number of active vents around the volcano. Two vents at the north, one at the south-southwest and another at the southwest had gone inactive. The vents could somehow help diffuse the activities of the volcano but it could also be a sign of intensified volcanic activities. The volcano spewed ash twice early morning of October 4, affecting majority of the villages of Bulusan town. Meanwhile, some residents of the village of San Roque, Bulusan expressed alarm after they observed some "bulging" on the ground. A ground deformation survey is currently being done by Phivolcs personnel.

10/14/07 -
INDONESIA - Mount Kelud volcano, which was put on the country's second-highest alert level last month, shows several alarming signs indicating it may erupt, the country's top volcano expert said. "I'm scared about Kelud. Kelud is now on the point of no return." The number of volcanic earthquakes at Mount Kelud, 90 km (55 miles) southwest of Indonesia's second-largest city Surabaya, has risen to as high as 23 in one day, compared with a maximum of 15 a day just before its last eruption in 1990. The volcano's "deformation" or expansion has increased, and gas and chemical levels have risen, while the temperature of the lake in the volcano's crater is climbing more rapidly, hitting 37.4 degrees Celsius on Saturday, compared with 32 degrees in August. Experts in Bandung, a city in West Java which is circled by volcano peaks, have been monitoring Mount Kelud for weeks, after three other volcanoes erupted earlier this year in Indonesia.

PHILIPPINES - Successive mild quakes have hit Del Gallego town, Camarines Sur in recent days, triggering fears of a possible eruption of the Mt. Labo volcano. Residents experience up to three intensity III earthquakes in a day. The initial assessment of the local Phivolcs office that the quakes were not volcanic and were caused by a fault did little to assuage residents' fears.

RWANDA - Swiss scientists are helping the government of Rwanda to extract potentially lethal methane from a dangerous lake for much needed electricity production. The threat in the Lake Kivu area comes from billions of cubic metres of gas dissolved deep underwater that could kill large numbers of people if it were to escape. At present, the gas remains dissolved deep underwater as a result of high pressure and the extremely stable water layers of the lake, which limits exchanges between the bottom and surface zones. But if gas concentrations continue to increase or if a severe disruption happened - following a volcanic eruption or a major earthquake - large quantities of gas bubbles could rise to the surface, possibly triggering a massive gas eruption. The release of a mixture of carbon dioxide and methane gas could have catastrophic consequences on the densely populated shores of the lake where about two million people live. Hundreds of thousands could be asphyxiated. At present the lake is in principle "very stable" and it would need a huge earthquake or magma input directly in the bottom of the lake to trigger a gas eruption. However, extracting the methane is not without risks. "One thing that is important is to maintain the stable stratification of the lake because otherwise the gases could rise near the surface and this would increase the risk of catastrophic eruption."

10/12/07 -
PHILIPPINES - Bulusan volcano sustained its restiveness Thursday, generating over a hundred volcanic quakes in the past 24 hours.

10/10/07 -
INDONESIA - Indonesian officials in two districts on the slopes of a volcano on Java island have been put on standby - with all leave cancelled - because of a potential eruption, officials said Tuesday. The order, which means they should not leave the districts, was issued "so evacuation and relief efforts can proceed smoothly. "There have been no significant changes, Kelut is still at the same alert status level." Mount Kelut has been placed on the second highest of four alert levels. It had been showing signs of increasing volcanic and seismic activities in past weeks, and the state volcanology office had warned of an eruption at any time. Signs of an imminent blow-out were much stronger this time than preceding an eruption in 1990. That was the last time the volcano went off. An estimated 15,000 people have been killed by the volcano in the last 500 years, including around 10,000 in a 1568 eruption.

10/10/07 -
WASHINGTON - Is Mount St. Helens winding down its three-year-long eruption or just getting ready for a quick cat nap? Scientists at the U.S. Geologic Survey in Vancouver are debating that very issue as the eruption's steady production of molten rock continues to slow. No one expected the eruption to last three years when the mountain rumbled back to life in late September of 2004 after an 18-year snooze. The post-eruption dome building of the 1980s lasted six years, but it occurred in fits and starts, not one continuous event. "This one has just been continuous and we haven't had any explosions since March 8, 2005, and that's been a surprise. This has just been a continuous extrusion of rock. We haven't seen this kind of cycle [before]." One theory for the difference is that the pool of molten rock driving this eruption is low in gas levels, making it less explosive. Another is that the slowdown is simply the start of the first "break" in the eruption, similar to periods of no activity during the 1980-86 dome-building events. When the eruption first started in October of 2004, 7.8 cubic yards of lava oozed out of the peak every second. The rate has declined to about 0.35 cubic yards. The volcano also has shifted the spot where it was producing new material during the past three years. At first new material appeared in the east end of the crater and then shifted to the south. Now, most of the new material is emerging from the southwest part of the crater.

10/7/07 -
ALASKA - Augustine volcano in the Far North has been muttering in its sleep, raising the possibility that the population center of Alaska may get ashed for the second time in less than two years. Augustine has blown its top five times in the past half century, most recently in January 2006. The last eruptive period launched in the fall of 2005 and ended in March of 2006. This time, a series of tiny earthquakes began trembling within the massif beneath the summit, possibly suggesting that a blob of viscous magma was wrenching and oozing through solid rock. On Sept. 22, AVO raised the aviation warning code to yellow and issued an advisory to the general public. "While significant, the current earthquake activity is much less energetic than that which immediately preceeded the explosive eruptions in January 2006." But Augustine continues to grumble, and AVO has issued additional statements every day since.

INDONESIA is racing to fix dams as Mount Kelud eruption on high alert - Indonesia was racing to strengthen dams and drainage tunnels Saturday to control a possible hot mud flow from Mount Kelud volcano. Laborers worked to strengthen and expand dams on the east of Java island to be able to hold back deadly mud flows if Mount Kelud erupts in the near future. More than 50 tents arrived Friday to house refugees should the incident occur. The center will distribute 50,000 masks to residents living near Mount Kelud. The government has also made preparations to evacuate about 24,000 people living just outside a danger zone, whenever the highest level of alert is announced. The alert was raised late last month to the second-highest level after sensors on its slopes picked up increased activity and a buildup of gases.

YEMEN - the volcano which erupted on the tiny island of Jabal al-Tair in the Red Sea on 30 September is still active. "It will take time to calm down." The volcano destroyed all the buildings of the naval base, which had to be evacuated as the eruption sent part of the island collapsing into the sea and covered the rest with lava. The authorities in al-Hodeidah, the nearest town on the mainland, have warned fishermen not to approach the island.

HAWAII - Kilauea's lava flow doubled since July 21. The current vent on Kilauea volcano's east rift zone is putting out twice as much lava compared with to eruptive rate before July 21. The amount is three times Kilauea's long-term average. For many years nearly all of the lava flowed southeast to the sea. Since July 21 it has flowed inland to the northeast of the rift zone. Photos on the observatory Web site show an increasing amount of crust, or cooled lava, on top of the lava river from the vent. Lava volume and surface crust are factors that can affect whether localized flows might become long-distance flows that could threaten populated areas. A permanent crust would prevent cooling and allow lava to go much farther. So far the crust is not permanent, but is flowing with the lava. It is also thin, breaking apart easily. And the lava river's level rises and falls, which "does not promote good crust growth." But the crust has been growing.

10/5/07 -
INDONESIA - Hundreds of Indonesians have begun evacuating the slopes of a rumbling volcano in East Java following increased levels of toxic fumes and tremors. The country's volcanological survey raised Mount Kelud's alert status to the second-highest level on Sunday, following increased activity. A mix of carbon dioxide and toxic substances seven times normal levels has been recorded from the volcano in recent days, prompting authorities to isolate the area. "We have advised everyone to stay away within a radius of 5 km (3 miles) from the volcano in anticipation of an eruption that could take place any moment. We have reason to believe that the magma is very close to the crater's surface." About 100,000 people, mostly farmers, live on the slopes of Mount Kelud. Many people in villages nearest to the crater, located on the borders of the safe zone, have already left their homes. A 1919 eruption of Mount Kelud caused the lake in its crater to burst through the volcano rim and sent boiling water down its slopes, killing 5,000 people in 104 villages.

PHILIPPINES - Volcanologists in the Philippines have warned residents near Mt. Bulusan Volcano on Luzon Island's in Sorsogon Province, issuing urgent alerts concerning possible mud, ash, and 'lahar flows' after ash explosions early Thursday morning. A spokesman for Phivolcs urged those living near river and stream channels to evacuate to high ground. Recent heavy rains have increased the risk of flash floods and landslides. "Ground surveys... along the at the volcano's northeast flank... indicated a slight inflation of the volcano's edifice," a indication that the volcano is bulging.

NEW ZEALAND - The Department of Conservation is still declaring the upper parts of Mt Ruapehu high risk areas following last week's eruption and are urging skiers, climbers and trampers to keep out of these areas until further notice. DOC has declared the summit and Crater Lake area within a radius of one kilometre from the lake an Extreme Risk Zone. A High Risk Zone has been declared beyond the Extreme Risk Zone down to the top of the ski areas at Whakapapa and Turoa and including the lahar path down the Whangaehu River on the eastern side of the mountain. “A lahar can travel from the Crater Lake to the top of the ski areas in as little as 2-3 minutes depending on the size of the eruption. During last week’s eruption large rocks were thrown from one to two kilometres from the lake, and people are certainly at risk from these if further eruptions occur.” Ski areas will continue to remain open. This eruption was what is commonly called a hydrothermal eruption, caused by the release of pressure under the Crater Lake. It may have been a one-off event but further eruptions can not be ruled out as the open vent conditions under the Crater Lake re-establish themselves. GeoNet equipment detected a smaller volcanic event on Saturday night but the weather since then has prevented any further visual observations. While seismic activity has been generally declining since, further volcanic activity is still possible.

10/4/07 -
PHILIPPINES - At least 16 villages were blanketed with thick ash following two explosions of the Bulusan volcano early morning Thursday. At least two residents were rushed to a hospital in Sorsogon City due to ash inhalation. Cleaning operations were still going on with the help of firetrucks from the towns of Bulan and Irosin and Sorsogon City. The two explosions occurred five minutes apart at 1:34 a.m. and 1:39 a.m. No measurement of the height, however, was taken due to lack of visibility. There were 40 volcanic quakes and 8 short-duration harmonic tremors recorded during the past 24-hour observation period ending at 5:26 a.m. Thursday morning. Phivolcs earlier warned of a possible explosion of Bulusan following an increase in the number of volcanic quakes to 20 on September 28. The seismic events on Thursday were almost the same in character to the ash explosion last July 31.

YEMEN - The volcano that erupted on a small island off the coast of Yemen has again begun spewing lava and ash into the air Yemen's navy said on Wednesday. The volcano lies on the island of Jazirt Al-Tair in the Red Sea, about 130 kilometres from Yemen. Inactive for over a century, the volcano first erupted on Sunday after several earthquakes were felt on the island. The volcano has so far produced one kilometre long lava flows and blackened the water within 10 kilometres of the island. Six Yemeni soldiers, part of a garrison of 50 stationed on the island, were killed in the eruption, while another 15 were injured. On Monday Yemen’s coastguard said shipping had been unaffected by the eruption. (photo)

10/3/07 -
NEW ZEALAND - Scientists are divided over whether Mt Ruapehu's eruption will prove a boon for skiers and snowboarders by keeping more snow on the ground for next season. One glaciologist said a layer of debris scattered over the mountain top from last week's eruption would protect snow that would normally melt, leading to a better ski season in 2008 and beyond. "There are debris, ash and lahar deposits up there that are a few feet thick in some places. This year's ski season is almost over but it will help preserve the snow packet, maybe for years to come, which will be of interest to skiers." As the debris was blown away over the coming years it would leave a base that snowfalls could build upon. But another scientist doubts the eruption would have any effect on future ski seasons. Lahar flows covered only narrow patches of ground, no ash fell on Turoa ski-field and the thin layer of ash above Whakapapa could even accelerate melting. Ruapehu's ski-fields reopened on Thursday, two days after the eruption, but closed again on Sunday because of bad weather. There was a small volcanic earthquake on the mountain, measuring 2.2 on the Richter scale, about 11pm on Saturday.

PHILIPPINES - The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology is keeping a close watch over Mt. Bulusan after it recorded a sudden increase of 20 quakes at the volcano last September 28. The number of volcanic quakes, however, sharply went down to only seven on Tuesday. Officials reiterated calls for residents to keep away from the four-kilometer permanent danger zone and to be always on alert, especially during the rainy season, for volcanic flow from ash deposits on the slopes. The volcano last exploded on July 31 when it sent a five-kilometer column of ash into the air. Bulusan Volcano remains under Alert level 1.

YEMEN - The volcano on a Yemeni island in the Red Sea was spewing a deadly mix of lava and ash for the third straight day on Tuesday, after erupting for the first time since the 19th century. Three soliders had been killed during the eruption on the island of Jabal al-Tair, home to a garrison of 50 soldiers, and five others are missing. A team of volcanologists dispatched to the area reported that the eruption produced one kilometre (0.6 mile) long lava flows and blackened the water within a 9.7 kilometre (six mile) radius of the island. There had been considerable seismic activity around the island ahead of the eruption, the Yemeni defence ministry said on its website. It said an earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale had been recorded on Friday.

KENYA - Scientists are warning of a volcano risk if the proposed construction of a controversial soda ash factory at Lake Natron in Tanzania is allowed to go on. A report released by the scientists said that Ol Doinyo Lengai, a volcanic mountain situated 14 kilometers from Lake Natron where the construction is planned to take place, shows signs of extreme instability. "The area has experienced a series of earthquakes in the last few weeks and these do also represent a major hazard to the planned production site." Eruptions at the active volcanic mountain have in the recent past been causing a spate of earthquakes in Tanzania, reaching as far as Kenya. "The actual crater area shows signs of extreme instability and any hazard evaluation has to consider the sudden failure." If an eruption occurs, at risk is a community of an estimated 10,000 to 20,000, which rely entirely on cattle herding. "A major explosive eruption, with the magnitude of events as documented repeatedly for the last 2000 years, threatens to annihilate the basis for Maasai persistence in the Natron rift area, the rift shoulders of the Crater Highlands and the adjacent Serengeti plain." Environmentalists already saw the project as a threat to Lake Natron's ecosystem. With the new threat of the volcano, it is not yet apparent what course the project will take. India's largest conglomerate of companies, Tata Chemicals, has set its sights on building a soda ash processing factory capable of producing 500,000 metric tonnes of soda annually at Lake Natron. The environmentalists say that the lake which is in Tanzania and touches the border with Kenya is the only remaining significant breeding site for the lesser flamingo, a species that forms the majority of the world's flamingo population. Despite the warnings from environmentalists, the Tanzanian government seems keen to go on with the planned construction and has already carried out an environmental impact assessment that gave the project a green light.

10/2/07 -
INDONESIA - Residents of Ngancar district are to be evacuated to Wates district following increased activity on Mount Kelud. More than 24,000 people live in the danger zone near Mt. Kelud's crater. The six villages to be evacuated are Sugihwaras, Sempu, Babadan, Ngancar, Manggis and Margourip.

YEMEN - A Canadian Navy spokesman described the volcanic eruption as "catastrophic." The eruption collapsed part of the island of Jabal al-Tair and covered the rest with lava. Six NATO ships searched for hours without success and were eventually told to stop by the Yemeni coast guard. "Just as we were leaving the area, about six miles offshore, we discovered a survivor drifting in the water. The first one went aboard the American ship and then Toronto recovered another survivor." The second survivor found was a 22-year-old private who had been in the water for about 20 hours. Four dead were also pulled from the Red Sea, officials said. Two people remain missing. It remains unclear whether the victims died from the eruption or drowning. The island last saw an explosive eruption in 1883. (photo)

RUSSIA - One of the most active volcanoes at Kamchatka - Shiveluch - threw out ashes on Sunday, the loop of which stretched 20km to the west and to the south-west. In one day over 300 local earthquakes were registered at the volcano. The most powerful of them was accompanied by emission of ashes from the crater to the height up to 4.6km over the sea level, scientists think. A thermal anomaly, the temperature of which was 38.6 degrees above zero on Celsius with ambient temperature minus 18 degrees, was registered on the volcano. Seismic stations register continuous spasmodic volcanic trembling. The last eruption happened in 1964, when the destruction of the lava dome happened and the volcano threw out over 1 cubic kilometer of volcanic material. Processes, happening on the volcano during the last decades, are similar to those which happened from 1854 to 1964 - during the period between the most powerful eruptions. By analogy it is possible to assume that in an interval of 100 years from the last powerful explosion in the crater of the giant, a new one will happen. Specialists who watch the behavior of the giant say that "no less than ten of such explosions happened in 1.5 thousand years."

10/1/07 -
YEMEN - A volcanic eruption off the Red Sea coast of Yemen spewed lava hundreds of yards into the air Sunday evening and at least 9 people were missing at sea. The eruption occurred on Jazirt Mount al-Tair, an island about 80 miles (140 km) from Yemen. A Defence Ministry official said the western part of the island had "collapsed" following the eruption. Naval ships were searching the surrounding waters for nine missing Yemeni soldiers who were stationed on the island. Several earthquakes felt on Sunday had triggered the eruption. "Three earthquakes struck the island around 1127 GMT on Sunday, and were ranging between 4.3 and 4 on the Richter scale." A Canadian frigate is conducting a search and rescue operation at the request of the Yemen coast guard. It said it was trying to locate nine people believed to be at sea in the area. Lava was spewing hundreds of yards into the air, with volcanic ash also rising 300 yards. The entire two-mile-long (three-km-long) island was aglow with lava and magma as it poured into the sea. A Yemeni geologist said the volcano had previously erupted in the 19th and 18th centuries, and is regarded as one of the Red Sea's more recent volcanic islands. ( photo )

INDONESIA - Indonesian scientists stepped up the alert level for a volcano in East Java and told people to stay away from the crater amid fears it is building up to an eruption. The alert for Mount Kelut was raised to the third of a four-level warning system on Sunday. It was based on recordings of increased seismic activity as well as rising temperatures in the crater lake and the shifting chemical composition of the water. The alert status had already been raised one step on September 11. Although its slopes are sparsely inhabited, the peak is a popular domestic tourist destination and is located on a densely-populated plain. Between September 26 and 29, 54 vulcanic earthquakes and nine tectonic temblors had been recorded, and signs were that their epicentre was moving closer to the surface. The lake on top of the volcano has also changed from its habitual greenish aspect into milky white, and gas is coming out. The chemical concentrate in the water had risen significantly over the previous months and the temperature of the lake was steadily rising. The volcano last blew in 1990. It has claimed more than 15,000 lives since 1500, including around 10,000 when it erupted in 1568. (photo)

NEW ZEALAND - Seismologists are warning that two earthquakes near Mount Ruapehu on Monday (local time) may be a sign of more things to come. A 4.5 magnitude quake was felt just after 3pm on Monday. It was centred 10 kilometres north-east of Turangi. The quake was 5km deep. Then at 6:20pm there was another small quake, measuring 2.8 on the Richter scale. It could be an indicator that we haven't seen the last eruption from Mount Ruapehu. Mount Ruapehu is showing signs of unrest, that in itself means it is important to be cautious about it.

9/30/07 -
HAWAII - Kilauea volcano continues to spew lava - An open lava channel is feeding a flow that has merged with another, and both are advancing along the southern edge of previous flows, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said Friday. Scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey's observatory are monitoring the ongoing dramatic change in the 24-year eruption of Kilauea.

9/28/07 -
WASHINGTON - Mount St. Helens just won't quit. Three years ago this month, hundreds of small earthquakes heralded the renewal of volcanic activity at the Cascade peak after an 18-year lull. Since then, the volcano has been a perpetual-motion machine. "It's been an amazing run. I never thought this eruption would last this long. And although things have slowed, there's no signs of it stopping any time soon...Mount St. Helens woke up in a hurry three years ago, which shows that we have to be prepared for what these volcanoes can do. You want to be ahead of the game by being able to detect even small changes." Tens of earthquakes are occurring daily compared with hundreds a year ago. The volcano's slowdown has allowed volcano scientists to give more attention to Mount Rainier, which is considered the Cascades' most dangerous volcano because it poses a threat to a large population.

NEW ZEALAND - Thousands of people have thrown caution to the wind and are enjoying a fine day of skiing on Mt Ruapehu despite the unexpected volcanic eruption just two days ago. The public has been warned to steer clear of the crater, but people were still hiking close to the rim and examining the lahars that were created after the eruption. "With it being the school holidays it's been quite fascinating for the young ones."

9/27/07 -
NEW ZEALAND - Questions have been raised over how the eruption managed to evade the warning sirens around Mount Ruapehu. The eruption, which occurred at 8:23 on Tuesday night, blasted a stream of rock and ash out of the mountain, sending two lahars down the mountainside. One man was injured in the eruption and he lost part of his right leg after becoming trapped underneath a boulder. Authorities say the sirens installed on Whakapapa did not sound because at magnitude 2.8 the eruption's accompanying earthquake was not big enough to trigger them. Volcanologists have predicted there could be more explosions at Mount Ruapehu over the next five days and people are being warned not to go the upper levels of the mountain during this time. (photo)
On the edge of Ruapehu's crater, two men were in the Dome Shelter, 700m from the crater, when the eruption occurred. They were asleep in the hut, and they woke to the sound of rushing water and rocks coming through the door. The two men heard the eruption as a "massive boom". The door of the hut was blown from its hinges and mud and rock poured inside. A huge rock smashed into one man, crushing his leg. Conditions were freezing and everything in the hut was wet. "He has recovered from the worst degree of metabolic derangement that I have ever seen. His body had pretty much shut down and he was so close to death ... literally seconds from death." His body temperature was 25C to 26C and he was very close to cardiac arrest. "For the majority of the night he was a hair breadth away from dying...If there'd been any delays in any stage of the process, he would have been dead." (photo of the Dome Shelter almost completely submerged by mud and debris from the eruption.)

9/26/07 -
NEW ZEALAND - Mount Ruapehu, famed as a key location in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, has erupted, spewing out ash and rock that injured one climber. Last night's 10-minute eruption threw boulders up to two metres in diameter up to 2km from the crater. Ski lodges were evacuated and highways briefly shut down when the volcano erupted unexpectedly. The eruption, which sent a cloud of ash and dust to a height of 4.5km, could signal further volcanic activity or it could be a one off event. In March a mudflow, or "lahar", flowed down the side of the mountain after the crater lake overflowed. Yesterday's eruption caused two mudflows down the eastern and northern slopes of the mountain, which quickly petered out in thick snow. Boulders thrown by the eruption crashed through the roof of a hut where four climbers were staying near the summit. One climber suffered leg injuries and was taken down the mountain to hospital. Doctors are fighting today to save the injured climber's legs.
There was no lava in the eruption but the top of the mountain was blackened by mud and ash thrown out of the crater. The level of the crater lake had not changed with the eruption and a scientist did not think there was any greater risk of a breach occurring in the crater rim. However, he did predict more murmurs from the mountain before it settled down again. "Typically you'll have two or three smaller events over the next few days if this plays out like 1975." Volcanologists were not "totally surprised" by the eruption, as the crater lake had been cooling down over the past few months.

9/25/07 -
HAWAII - Far from the public eye, lava from Kilauea Volcano continues its creep toward civilization. The eruption that began July 21 is supplying lava to a channel now almost a mile long on the northeast flank of the volcano. Scientists are watching for the flows to turn to smoother and faster-moving pahoehoe, which could signal a more imminent hazard to communities in the Puna district. The flows, now in the Wao Kele o Puna rain forest, are heading downhill in the general direction of Kaohe Homesteads, Leilani Estates and Highway 130 but are at least seven miles away. The observatory's summary for hazards warns that although there are no immediate threats, "vent areas and lava channels are hazardous and conditions can change rapidly." (photos)

9/24/07 -
ALASKA - Scientists at the Alaska Volcano Observatory report there's been increased shallow seismic activity at Augustine Volcano over the past week. The observatory has switched the aviation color code from green to yellow. Current earthquakes there are small, generally less than magnitude 1.0 and they are located at a shallow depth beneath the volcano's summit.

9/20/07 -
COSTA RICA - Tuesday Volcan Arenal gave the residents and visitors an unexpected show. At around 10:12am, lava spewed out of the cone and down the southwest side of the mountain finally stopping around 1000 meters above sea level. It is no surprise that there is activity in the mountain, but typically the lava does not travel outside of the cone. It simply jumps out of the cone and back in to form a protuberance or bulge. This time the pressure on the protuberance was too much and the lava broke through to form a pyroclastic flow, which is an eruption of high-temperature gases, ash, and rocks. This time of year brings a lot of seismic activity to the area, causing quite a few opportunities for visitors to see some action. Although there was no dangerous threat, scientists are going to keep a close eye on the volcano. (photo)

9/18/07 -
INDONESIA - The 8.4 magnitude quake that struck off the coast of western Sumatra on Wednesday, and the series of aftershocks, spurred fresh magma movement in the volcanoes which lie close to the quake's epicenter. The massive earthquake triggered more activity in three volcanoes in the area, but all have since calmed down. "It is true that the shocks have spurred an increased number of tremors in surrounding volcanoes. The number of tremors indicate the movement of magma. If you ask me whether any of the volcanoes will erupt because of the shocks, my definite answer is no. There is nothing to worry about." Mount Talang - which lies just 30 km (19 miles) from Padang, the city nearest to the epicenter of one of the quakes - recorded almost 40 times the usual number of volcanic tremors a day after the quake. But activity on the volcano dropped dramatically the day after, and the number of tremors is now close to the normal six a day. Two other volcanoes, Mount Dempo and Kaba, in the worst-hit province of Bengkulu, have also calmed down after the aftershocks began to ease.

9/16/07 -
Global warming to trigger volcanic eruptions, scientists warn - British scientists are warning of another possible side effect of climate change: a surge of dangerous volcanic eruptions. Researchers say the melting of polar ice sheets from global warming and the resulting stress placed on the earth's crust from rising sea levels will increase eruptions in the years to come. There could also be an increase in undersea earthquakes and tsunamis. "There is already evidence for earthquakes in Alaska being triggered by unloading by ice. Also evidence of this volcano Pavlof in Alaska erupting in the winter when sea levels rise slightly due to weather conditions, just 30 centimetres. So, if we see one to two metres of sea level rise this century, accompanied by mass wasting of the glaciers in the polar region, so we can expect a response by the crust within the next few decades."

TANZANIA - authorities are persuading people in villages near Ol Doinyo Lengai to move to safer areas after the volcano erupted. Since July, areas around Ol Doinyo Lengai have been hit by earth tremors as a result of volcanic activity. The earthquakes caused panic in settled areas, including the Kenya capital, Nairobi. The mountain has spewed smoke and discharged lava since the beginning of September. The most powerful quake, on the afternoon of 17 July, was estimated at 5.9 on the Richter scale. The United States Geological Survey, which has been monitoring the tremors, said that available information was "not sufficient to determine if the current activity reflects a geologic process that might lead to a change in the eruptive behavior of Ol Doinyo Lengai".

NEW ZEALAND - Scientists have discovered a film of molten magma under the central North Island. As a result of the find, monitoring of the potentially explosive Taupo Volcanic Zone, the scene of enormous eruptions in the past, will be improved. It was thought magma lurked in unconnected pockets under volcanoes and geothermal zones, but new measurements have revealed the molten rock lies across a zone 50 kilometres wide and 160km long, northeast of Taupo. "The key is that it is like a continuous film wetting the surface. The wet surface is right across the Taupo Volcanic Zone, not just little blobs under each geothermal system or volcano." When the system is stable, a layer of hot rock with its small amount of magma provides the heat necessary to fuel more than 20 geothermal systems in the region. But if there is too much magma it can build up at shallow depths, eventually leading to a giant eruption. About 26,000 years ago such an explosion formed what is now Lake Taupo. Until now there had been little evidence about the extent of the magma system under the central North Island. "Eruptions from the Taupo area are enormous, the scale is difficult to imagine."

9/13/07 -
Indonesia's powerful earthquake may have affected the devastating mudflow from the mud volcano in East Java. The massive crater had been spurting more mud than normal in recent days. Nine villages - including thousands of homes, factories and rice paddy fields - have been buried by the mud, which started flowing from the site of a gas exploration well during drilling 3km underground more than a year ago. The increase in mud coincides with the series of earthquakes in tremor-prone Indonesia, but it is too early to definitively say the two were connected. "To say there's a link between the earthquake and increase in mudflow, we can not be certain of that. But, from what our eyes can see, the mudflow volume has increased in the past three to four days. The mud has overflown from the first ring dam, the one surrounding the mudflow's central source. There's also increase in sulfuric gas outflow." Yesterday's powerful quake, and strong aftershocks, "thankfully" had not damaged the dirt embankments containing the mud.
An artesian well in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, started spewing gas on Tuesday, raising concerns about possible explosions in the area. "After drilling about 30 meters, we found an UNUSUAL reaction. The water that we poured into the well to bring up ground water was absorbed after the appearance of some bubbles. Not long after that, gas started flowing out of the well." Worried about an explosion, an employee in the drilling division of Weather Ford inserted a 30-meter pressure pipe into the well and set fire to the gas to form a flare. "We hope the flare will burn all the gas and the well will produce water after running out of gas." The Balikpapan Environment Control Agency initially said the gas could run out within 14 hours. But 23 hours later the flare was still burning three meters in the air. The gas started flowing at 3:30 pm on Monday from the well, which had been drilled through four layers of top soil, coal, soil and coal. The gas was not poisonous, and smelled like liquefied petroleum gas. [anaother possible portent of the impending big quake?]

9/7/07 -
TANZANIA - Intermittent volcanic eruptions from Oldonyo Lengai Mountain in Arusha Region have caused panic and anxiety among villagers living nearby. The surrounding communities, especially those at Engaresero Village, who had previously defied a government evacuation order, are currently seeking assistance to move out, following days of mountain rumbling. Interviewed residents of the village, which is situated 16 kilometers from the mountain, confirmed seeing discharge of red-hot dust from the mountaintop on Tuesday night, coupled with tremors and explosions. The first explosion was heard after midnight on Tuesday. It was followed by another powerful blast Wednesday morning, which forced all residents to revisit their previous decision of sticking to their guns. Tourists who spent a night at Engaresero decided to cut short their visit after witnessing the flow of hot lava down the mountain, which covered all creeks located downhill. In July, volcanic activities were reported at Oldonyo Lengai, occurring almost at the same time as earth tremors in other parts of Tanzania. The affected regios are Arusha, Kilimanajaro, Mwanza, Dodoma and Dar es Salaam. Earth tremors also shook the Kenyan capital city of Nairobi.

9/6/07 -
ALASKA - The Pavlof Volcano in the Aleutian rim continues to be active, puffing ash and spewing lava. The Alaska Volcano Observatory says King Cove, Nelson Lagoon, Cold Bay and Sand Point have been warned to look out for light ash. Scientists say the volcano could become even more active. They continue to warn that a large explosion could send ash above 15,000 feet, affecting air travel.

ITALY - Etna has showed a strong explosive activity, characterized by lava flows many hundred metres high. A thick column of ash has rained down on some towns of the Eastern side. The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology of the Catania division has communicated that during the night there has been a decrease of the volcano activity, that Etna has returned to normal conditions.

NEW ZEALAND - Fears that the next Mt Ruapehu lahar generated by an eruption could hit the whole mountain, putting lives at risk on the ski-slopes, have led to a redesign of the warning system. The lahar could flow down five catchments, not just one as it did on March 18 when the crater rim burst, sending 1.3 million cubic metres of water and debris down the Whangaehu River. The lahar warning system performed well. But it will be redesigned to cope with an emergency covering the whole mountain, not single catchments, as there is a significant chance that hundreds of people in crowded ski areas at Whakapapa and Turoa would be at risk. Eruption lahars are the most common on Mt Ruapehu, though only three have flowed through the ski areas in the past 50 years.

9/5/07 -
MOUNT ETNA has spewed out lava in its latest spectacular eruption. Sparks lit the night sky and a small stream of lava was flowing down the volcano into an uninhabited valley but there was no danger to villages lower down on the slopes. The wind blew volcanic ash onto several villages and officials said the airport of Catania, a city at the base of the volcano, would be closed during the night as a precaution. Etna erupts regularly but usually causes little damage to inhabited areas. (photo)
Etna Webcams

HAWAII - Hawaiian Island lava flows into UNUSUAL area - Civil defense officials and scientists who study Kilauea Volcano stress that the recent flow of lava into the remote Wao Kele O Puna rain forest poses no immediate threat to homes or populated areas, but the lava incursion does have an unsettling aspect to it. The slow-moving column of molten rock recently ventured into land rated as Lava Hazard Zone 3. By contrast, almost all of the flows in recent years were confined to the riskiest Zone 1 areas that are smack on Kilauea's East Rift Zone, or Zone 2 areas such as land immediately downslope from the rift zone. There are nine zones in all, with Zone 1 being the riskiest, and Zone 9 the safest. The incursion of lava from Kilauea onto Zone 3 land underscores the potential for damage in areas that the general public may not regard as particularly vulnerable to volcanic flows. The flow has moved in the general direction of Pahoa and the rural Puna subdivisions that have been the scene of rapid population growth during a building boom that has lasted for more than a decade.

RUSSIA - Ashy emissions erupted by the most northern active Volcano in Kamchatka – Shiveluch - have spread over 80 kilometres. 60 local earthquakes were registered during the last 24 hours. Some of the earthquakes went along with powerful gas-ashy emissions and episodic spasmodic volcanic tremor. The spouts of ash over Shiveluch volcano reached a height of 4.3-4.5 kilometres. According to the specialists, the volcano is not currently dangerous for the local populated areas but poses a threat to air flight safety, tourists, hunters, and fishermen in the area.

9/2/07 -
INDIA - Authorities in Arunachal Pradesh have sounded an alert after lava and hot gas clouds began erupting from the side of a hill. A RARE geological occurrence was reported from a hill slope near Kimin village, about 75 km north of state capital Itanagar. "Residents first witnessed a fire in the hill and afterwards it began spewing ash and sending debris down its slopes that appears like typical molten magma of a volcano." The phenomenon was first reported Aug 21 from the area where there was no human habitation. The nearest human settlement is located about a kilometre from the hill slope. "The debris found in the area was of different colours like black, green and brown. Some of the substances also appear like glass, besides burnt bricks and rocks. Such was the intensity of the heat from the flying debris that a high tension power pole near the site of the occurrence melted, resulting in power disruption." Residents in the area are panicking, with authorities sealing the area by deploying police and preventing people from going near the hill. "The site is lying dormant but not extinct, as the area continues to emit smoke and gas and also the nearby earth was found to be very hot." Experts from the Geological Survey of India have visited the area and collected samples for laboratory tests at their headquarters in Kolkata. "This is some sort of a fumerolic activity which could be the beginning of some activity inside the earth. The molten magma has probably oozed out owing to rise in temperature of at least 1,000 degrees centigrade." The laboratory test report is expected by the weekend. India's northeastern region is considered by seismologists to be the sixth most quake prone belt. "Evidence of volcanic eruptions some millions of years back has been found in a village named Lichi, about 15 km from the present eruption site. However, there are no historical remains of any volcanic mountain - either extinct, dormant or active in the region." GSI experts are camping in the area to observe the rare occurrence and have asked authorities not to allow locals to go near the site. "There has been no fresh oozing since Aug 21 although more such occurrences cannot be ruled out."

8/30/07 -
GALAPAGOS ISLAND - Darwin volcano has erupted on uninhabited Fernandina Island, at the far west of Ecuador's Galapagos Island chain. The eruption began at 4:50 p.m. on Tuesday following a 5.2 earthquake in the Beagle sector of Isabella island on the western flank of the volcano Darwin. The authorities planned a flight over the island to see if the eruption is a crack or comes from the crater. The Galapagos has experienced explosive eruptions, with lava flow lasting around a week. Fernandina is the tallest island in the archipelago. The last eruption happened in May 2005, leaving a large amount of lava down its southeastern flank.

8/24/07 -
ALASKA - officials say Pavlof volcano is continuing to erupt vigorously into its second week. Earthquake activity in the area, about 600 miles southwest of Anchorage, is steady and above normal. A webcam that was installed last weekend should be running soon, but technical problems with it are still being worked out.

HAWAII - Some in the Big Island community are concerned Kilauea's lava flows could start pouring into residential areas. The volcano's lava has headed safely to sea for most of the past 15 years. But since July 21, the volcano has been active in an inland area several miles uphill from homes and businesses. The flows pose no immediate danger, but it's hard to predict what might happen over the long term. Hawaii County's mayor says it's like a hurricane system developing 2,000 miles away - any scenario is possible.

MONTSERRAT - Two dozen Montserrat residents have been allowed to return to their homes near the Soufriere Hills volcano, six months after they were forced to evacuate by a growing lava dome. The last homeowners in the community of Old Towne are being allowed return to their properties for the first time since February, when the Caribbean island's exclusion zone had been extended north. But "should there be an increase in volcanic activity ... they must be prepared to move north at short notice." The announcement, which affected about 25 people, came shortly after reports that the risk from the volcano had lessened. Scientists had feared a lava dome on its northeast side could crumble, spewing hot gases, ash and rocks and threatening nearby towns. Roughly 50 other homeowners in a different section of Old Towne were allowed to return on July 20. The Soufriere Hills volcano sprang to life in 1995, killing 19 people, chasing away more than half the island's population and burying much of its southern half.

ICELAND - Geologists believe Mt. Hekla is going to erupt again in the next year or two; the last eruption was in 2000. Mt. Hekla is a faithful volcano, meaning it has erupted regularly, every ten years or so for over 1,000 years. Snow did not cling to its peak this winter, which indicates the mountain is heating up. Minor earthquakes, caused by volcanic activity inside Hekla, were measured this summer. They are expecting a small harmless spurt with minor lava and toxic gasses. Some of the prior eruptions were so extreme that they could be seen from Europe.

8/22/07 -
INDONESIA - Lava and hot gas clouds from Mount Karangetang volcano in eastern Indonesia are threatening more villages. Lava has already spread more than 1.5 kilometres down Mount Karangetang's western and southeastern slopes, where more than a dozen villages are located. "We've recorded volcanic tremors that indicates more lava will climb to the crater's surface. At least four more villages on the western slope are at risk of being swallowed by lava." Another hundred people have left their homes to join nearly 600 people who have already sought refuge in the nearest town. The alert status was raised to maximum at the weekend after hot clouds started moving eastwards, posing a threat to hundreds of people. Another volcano 175km south of Mount Karangetang has also been spewing ash and sending debris down its slopes. But Mount Soputan, which lies on the northern tip of the Sulawesi island, is not yet seen as a threat to nearby villages.

TRINIDAD - On Monday, delegates from several organisations journeyed to Mayaro to discuss with the residents the possible dangers of eruption from the off-shore mud volcano. The mud volcano began rising about three months ago, but residents say they had been calling on the authorities for some time to investigate a gas bubble spotted at sea, but no one did anything until an article appeared in the newspaper. When it was first seen it was an oil bubble that grew quickly, and it has been growing ever since. Officials said there was no danger to residents on shore.

ETHIOPIA - A volcano that erupted earlier this month in remote northern Ethiopia killed five people and drove more than 2,000 from their homes. The volcano, which rocked the arid Afar region bordering Eritrea and Djibouti for three days from August 12, also killed about 1,370 camels and goats. The eruption also opened a 10km crack in the ground and spewed lava 300m in the air. The Afar region is dotted with ancient salt mines and is for the most part inhabited by nomadic herders.

8/21/07 -
ALASKA - The eruption of Pavlof volcano along the Alaska Peninsula southwest of Anchorage continues to dribble molten rock down its slopes, trigger steaming lahars and spit small ash clouds into the air. The volcano awoke last week with a dramatic explosion that appears to have legs. The Alaska Volcano Observatory continues to rate the volcano's aviation hazard at the Orange level, meaning that the eruption isn't currently sending ash into flight zones but could at any time. Volcanic ash can damage or shutdown jet aircraft. Pavlof has erupted 10 (and possibly 13 times) in the past three decades, most recently in 1996. A surge in earthquakes beneath Pavlof on Aug 14 alerted scientists that it had awoken again. By Aug. 15, the volcano had begun erupting with lava, ash and steam. Cleveland Volcano - an Aleutian cone without its own seismic network - has also been sending ash into the sky. Korovin is stirring too. (photos)
Alaskan Volcano Observatory - activity is monitored in real time at 31 volcanoes in Alaska.

8/20/07 -
INDONESIA - Lava and hot gas clouds have begun erupting from Mount Karangetang volcano, threatening hundreds of people living in nearby villages. The alert status for Mount Karangetang was raised to maximum at the weekend after hot clouds started moving eastwards, posing a threat to hundreds of people. Mount Karangetang, on the diving resort island of Siau off Sulawesi and 2325km northeast of the capital Jakarta, is one of Indonesia's most active volcanoes. "At least hundreds of the 30,000 people living on the island are at grave risk. We have recommended evacuation for entire districts and we are pushing for the complete evacuation of at least two villages located 5km from the volcano's crater." Lava had already spread more than 1km down the volcano's slopes. Another volcano, 175km south of Mount Karangetang, has also been spewing ash and sending debris down its slopes. But Mount Soputan, which lies on the northern tip of the Sulawesi island, is no threat to nearby villages.

HAWAII - A major lava bench along the coastline of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park collapsed into the ocean this week, possibly shaken loose by several earthquakes. The East Laeapuki delta, an unsteady feature built by lava from the Kilauea volcano flowing into the ocean, has disappeared. Nearly 44 acres of the bench vanished, perhaps because of a 5.4-magnitude earthquake or high surf caused by Hurricane Flossie. "We had a report from a tour pilot that East Laeapuki bench had collapsed. It's totally gone."

8/17/07 -
ALASKA - One of the most active volcanoes in the Aleutian arc could be working toward a massive, explosive eruption that could affect air travel, scientists said Thursday. Satellite images of Pavlof Volcano taken Thursday showed strong thermal readings, consistent with what the Alaska Volcano Observatory is calling a "vigorous eruption of lava" at the volcano about 590 miles southwest of Anchorage on the Alaska Peninsula. The volcano lies directly in the path of hundreds of daily international flight paths, and an explosive eruption could severely interrupt those operations. Seismic activity is high at the volcano, with about one tremor recorded every minute. Mudslides — called lahars — caused when lava melts snow on the peak, have triggered some seismic activity as well. The mudslides took place on the southeast side of the volcano, an area inhabited by few, if any, people. Pavlof is about nine miles from Pavlof Bay, a popular fishing ground, but at the moment it isn't posing an immediate threat. Hazards the volcano could present include light ash fall on nearby communities, mud flows, lava flows and hot debris avalanching on the volcano's flanks. Several small towns are in the area, including King Cove, about 35 miles to the southwest, with a population of roughly 800, and Cold Bay, nearly 40 miles southwest, with a population of about 90. The ash plume was visible from King Cove, but none was falling on it yet. "What we think we're in for is several months of low-level eruptions punctuated by a few large and explosive events." A string of eruptions took place during the 1970s and 1980s, but the last one took place in 1996, making this 11-year period the longest it has gone without an event. A series of ash explosions and lava eruptions took place for several months after the last eruption. During past eruptions, sporadic lava flow has gurgled out for several months.

8/16/07 -
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO - Dangerous gas is bubbling out of the mud volcano. The Trinidad and Tobago Institute of Marine Affairs has warned fishermen and other boaters to stay away from the mud volcano off the east coast of Trinidad as it is emitting methane, a flammable gas. This situation could be hazardous if the gas was ignited. The volcano has grown 45 feet over the past four months and is now within four feet of breaking the sea surface.

ALASKA - Pavlof Volcano on the Alaska Peninsula is erupting. Eyewitnesses on several ships reported seeing incandescent blocks falling down the east-southeast flank of the volcano Tuesday night. The observatory had already raised its aviation alert code for the volcano from yellow to orange, and the alert level from advisory to watch, based on heat readings by weather satellites and an escalating swarm of earthquake signals from sensors on the mountain. A pilot reported a weak ash plume extending five miles southwest of the summit at about 8,400 feet elevation. Scientists said the eruption could become stronger at any time. Immediate hazards around the volcano include light ashfall on nearby communities, mud flows in local drainages, and lava flows and avalanching of hot debris on the upper reaches of the volcano. Attention was first drawn to the volcano, 37 miles northeast of Cold Bay, when earthquake activity increased abruptly on Tuesday. Similar patterns of seismicity occurred before eruptions in 1996, 1986, 1983 and 1981.

ETHIOPIA - A volcano in north-east Ethiopia's Afar region erupted over the weekend, leaving two people missing and forcing hundreds to flee. The volcano spewed lava on Sunday, forcing mainly salt-mining Afar nomads living around the mountain's range to escape. "The volcano at Alama'ari locality in the Afar regional state forced residents of the nearby villages of Dayulu and Gomoyta to flee for their lives, two among them are still missing. People living in nearby mountain ranges were also forced to retreat." The volcano's name was not given, and it was not immediately clear if it was Mount Arteale, the only active volcano in Ethiopia, which erupted some two years ago. Arteale had been largely dormant for the previous six decades, but started to spew molten lava after a series of earthquakes rattled the region in September 2005.

INDONESIA - A volcano on Indonesia's Sulawesi island has shot smoke into the sky and heat clouds down its slopes. A column of smoke soared 1,500 metres above Mount Soputan and clouds of gas shot down its western slope. The activity isn't considered dangerous, as no volcanic earthquakes were registered and the mountain is sparsely populated.
Another volcano, Mount Karangetang, only 175 km north of Mount Soputan has shown increased activity since last week, prompting officials to raise its alert status one notch on Saturday.

8/13/07 -
RUSSIA - The Shiveluch volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East is emitting ash to the height of 6,000 meters (20,000 feet). In the past twenty-four hours, about 170 local tremors have been registered around Mount Shiveluch. The volcano began erupting in December 2006. Satellite photos show that clouds of volcanic ash are spreading to the distance of 90 km (56 miles) southeast of the volcano, posing a threat to air flights.

8/12/07 -
INDONESIA - More than 500 people have been evacuated from the slopes of Mount Karangetang which has been spewing lava and hot clouds on the northern Indonesian island of Siau. Lava and hot clouds emerged from the peak of the mountain on Friday. Hotclouds - clouds of high temperatures that slide down the slope at high speed burning everything in their path - killed three when it last erupted in 1997. Five years earlier, hotclouds left seven people dead.

ALASKA - It's been a relatively quiet year for Alaska volcanoes. There have been no major eruptions, yet. But those who watch the steaming giants along Alaska's ring of fire have noticed some interesting developments. It's been more than a year since the eruptions on Alaska's most active volcano ended. But on a flight over Mount Augustine this week, the mountain continues to simmer, spewing a steady steam. Geologists say, if anything, the volcano is cooling down from its eruption last year. Currently, the observatory is more concerned about Cleveland Volcano, way out on the Aleutian Chain. Low-level eruptive activity continues there. No villages are in the immediate vicinity and the real concern is for aviation on cross-pacific flights. "Our satellite analysts began seeing evidence of increased ground temperature right at the summit of Cleveland Volcano. It's a very steep-sided cone with a steep, walled crater at the top and that prompted us to elevate our alert level because this meant that new lava might be reaching the surface, which increased the possibility of a big explosion."

ICELAND - Researchers at the University of Iceland have discovered two rift zones on the Reykjanes ridge. Upon this discovery, they have uncovered a NEW TYPE OF VOLCANO UNLIKE ANY IN THE WORLD. This may be the most significant geological discovery in the last 40 years. The University of Iceland and the University of Hawaii conducted a research expedition along the ridge, which is in the sea southwest of Iceland, in mid-June in a search for more answers about the ocean floor. With this discovery, it will be possible to trace the geological history 24 million years into the past. In addition, this finding will help geologists to understand how the hotspot under Iceland and the rift zone interact. The rift zones have been moving southwards and that movement will continue for the next millions of years.

Yellowstone volcano not ready to blow - Out of 148 American volcanoes, the U.S. Geological Survey ranks Yellowstone's as the 21st biggest threat. Last year, the park experienced 1,202 earthquakes, albeit minor ones. The park's newest safety inspector had to evacuate the park office after steam vents shot 4.5% carbon monoxide-level gas up through the floor cracks. Five bison dropped dead in 2004 from toxic gasses emitting from the surface of the park. Outbreaks of earthquakes, changes in gas emissions, ground deformations - they're all signs of a potential volcano eruption, and they've all occurred at Yellowstone National Park, but they aren't happening in a confined area nor at a rate alarming enough to predict that there's going to be a supervolcanic eruption anytime soon. Studies at the 2.2-million acre national park show that a catastrophic event like a caldera-forming volcanic eruption is the least likely to happen.

8/10/07 -
GUATEMALA'S Fire Volcano erupted Thursday, spewing lava, rock and ash near the colonial city of Antigua and some of the Central American country's most famous coffee farms. Seven families were evacuated from their homes near the volcano, about 27 miles (50 kilometers) southwest of Guatemala City. The villagers were unharmed. "Last night, the situation was quite serious, and we declared an orange alert. We will remain in the area to monitor the situation." No damage was reported to the plantations, where coffee beans are beginning to mature. Fire Volcano is part of a chain of active volcanoes along the edge of Guatemala's Maya Indian highlands.

8/9/07 -
INDONESIA - The powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake that shook Indonesia's main island of Java early Thursday could trigger activity at some of the islands many volcanoes. The undersea quake, centred about 110 kilometres (70 miles) east of the capital Jakarta and off the north coast of Java, occurred just after midnight (1700 GMT), rattling buildings and sending panicked residents onto the streets. The quake struck at a depth of about 290 kilometres, too deep to unleash a tsunami. But it was felt as far afield as North Sumatra to the west and in Bali about 880 kilometres to the east. "We are closely monitoring Mount Ceremai and Mount Slamet. If the pressure at the volcanoes is quite high, it may trigger volcanic activity." However, the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said the probability of such an event was low.
The Indonesian Geology Agency has predicted five volcano eruptions for the country annually as it sits on a highly vulnerable zone. An estimated 129 active volcanoes are spread across the sprawling archipelago. The country's volcanoes account for 13% of all the volcanoes worldwide. Last month, the 700-meter-high Mount Gamkonora in West Halmahera, North Maluku, unexpectedly erupted, causing thousands to temporarily flee their homes. Agency officials Sunday remained on warning as the Papandayan volcano in Garut, West Java, and Merapi volcano in Yogyakarta were registered as being in a "cautious" status. Another volcano, Soputan in North Sulawesi, is in a higher "alert" status.

8/8/07 -
HAWAII - Kilauea lava takes UNUSUAL direction - the latest lava burst from the July 21 eruption site in the Puu Oo vent at Kilauea crater. But this one's going in a different direction - toward the northeast. It's the FIRST TIME IN 21 YEARS lava from Puu Oo has taken that route. Usually it flows to the south. "At the very front of the flow it's moving across older lava that erupted in the early days of Puu Oo between 1983 and 1986. We believe that the tip may have just started to go into the forest that is just beyond those earlier flows." The 'river' of lava has carved a channel three and half miles long. The widest point is 200 to 300 yards across. Along the way it has burned and buried some "lava islands," outcroppings of greenery growing in old lava rock. There's no telling when the lava river will stop growing or flowing, but scientists say it is showing signs of slowing down. (photo)

8/6/07 -
INDONESIA - An Indonesian official warned tourists and villagers on Sunday to stay one kilometer (0.6 miles) back from two craters on a smoking volcano that are spewing poison gas. "We don't want fatalities in Mount Papandayan," citing an incident last month in which poisonous fumes on neighboring Salak Volcano killed six school children camping on the mountainside. Activity at the volcano, one of the country's most active, has increased in recent days, but a major eruption is not believed to be imminent.

WASHINGTON - A second Web camera aimed at Mount St. Helens is now online from the Johnston Ridge Observatory. This new high-definition camera allows visitors to get a sharper and closer view of the growing lava dome and displaced glacier within the crater. The current camera will remain and become the “classic” VolcanoCam view. You can find the old & new cameras at www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/volcanocams/msh.

8/5/07 -
HAWAII - The formation of "perched lava ponds" at Kilauea's newest fissure is the latest phenomenon to intrigue scientists studying the long-running eruption. The ponds appeared July 21 at the fissure on the northeast side of the Pu'u 'O'o cone. It's the first time lava has surfaced in that area since 1999. Since the fissure began, at least three "perched" or elevated pools of lava have developed and overflowed to feed longer flows. The largest is 650 feet in diameter and almost 65 feet high. Perched lava ponds are somewhat uncommon because they require a fairly constant flow of lava and the right terrain. The ponds form when slow-moving lava flows into a relatively flat area and spreads outward into ponds instead of forming a channel. As the outer edges cool, levees are created, capturing newer lava. Sooner or later, the ponds overflow, and with each episode, the levees thicken and grow taller. The pools can collapse, drain or harden, creating a flat formation that resembles a frozen water pond. The ponds are extremely dangerous since the edges can break anytime and inundate surrounding areas. The eruption area is closed to visitors. Kilauea has been continuously erupting since Jan. 3, 1983. (photos / video)

8/3/07 -
ICELAND - A series of small earthquakes around Upptyppingar north of Vatnajökull since this February has prompted speculations from geologists that a volcanic eruption could be imminent in the area. A particularly intense sequences of quakes occurred during the nights of July 31 and August 1. Around 130 small quakes were reported during that period. Geologists believe the quakes are related to movements of magma underneath the surface and if they continue with increasing power a volcanic eruption might take place.

INDONESIA - disaster authorities on Thursday raised the alert level over Mount Papandayan in West Java province after volcanic activities were recorded in recent weeks which may be signs of imminent eruption. Continuous minor tremors were recorded near the volcano and temperatures around the volcano have shown signs of increase. "The volcano visibly spewed white thick smoke as high as 50 meters." The volcano's last eruption was on November 21, 2002.

PHILIPPINES - Bulusan volcano in Sorsogon remains active two days after it shot a column of ash high into the air, volcanologists said Thursday.

TIRNIDAD & TOBAGO - The bubbling disturbance in the sea off Point Radix is a mud volcano mount which poses no immediate threat to people, experts confirmed yesterday. They also sought to quash rumors that the disturbance could generate a tsunami which could affect the seaside villages along the east coast of Trinidad. The waves being generated pose a threat only to sea-going vessels. Officials have not recorded any changes to the sea level, the seabed or even the marine life in the immediate vicinity. More work needs to be done before proving or disproving that this volcano and the one inland at Cascadoux Village lie along the same fault.

8/2/07 -
PHILIPPINES - Bulusan volcano fell silent on Wednesday, a day after it spewed a huge column of sulfuric ash and pebbles. 46 earthquakes have been detected in the Bulusan volcano since then. Steam and ash continue to pour from its summit. The Philippine Institute of Vulcanology and Seismology says another eruption will take place at any time, and it warned local residents to be alert for volcanic mudflows if heavy rains fall on Bulusan's slopes.

8/1/07 -
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO - residents are scared as mud volcanoes are rumbling along the coast. East coast residents living near the emerging mud volcano island in the Atlantic Ocean are very fearful. Fishermen are afraid that their boats will be sucked in if they get too close and beachfront residents in Ortoire Village are worried that a large scale eruption could trigger tsunami-like waves. In the neighboring village of Cascadoux Trace, a long dormant inland mud volcano has begun rumbling too and is rising faster than ever. Several smaller bubbling holes have emerged in the village near the coast, about eight miles from the growing mound in the sea. "We would like the experts to come here and tell us if this thing is connected to what is happening in the sea." Ponds are bubbling, part of the road leading to the village is pocked with holes, some with bubbling mud. Ten years ago in the area, the Piparo mud volcano blew out with ferocity.

PHILIPPINES - The latest explosive episode of Mt. Bulusan was "phreatic" or driven by enormous steam pressure and was the biggest since its initial eruption in June last year. Phivolcs said its constant monitoring of Mt. Bulusan failed to give warning signs of the latest eruption. The ash-laden cloud following the eruption was carried by the prevailing "habagat" or west-northwest wind towards the towns of Magallanes, Juban, Casiguran, Castilla, Bulan, Gubat and Barcelona. Officials ordered the evacuation of villages near Mt. Bulusan. The ash cloud was visible in Legazpi City, some 80 kilometers from Mt. Bulusan, and might dump ash in some parts of neighboring Albay Province in the north.

7/31/07 -
PHILIPPINES - The Bulusan volcano in the central Philippines spewed ash early Tuesday, blanketing fields and villages as far as five kilometers (three miles) away, but there was no immediate sign of a major eruption. Mount Bulusan has been showing signs of unrest with on-and-off ash and steam explosions since March 2006. The latest burst sent ash falling five kilometers (three miles) west of the volcano, which is in Sorsogon province about 390 kilometers (240 miles) southeast of Manila. Television reports said the ash column caused panic in the surrounding area, with residents running out of their homes. Since it last ejected ash on May 12, the mountain's northeastern slope has swelled slightly and abnormally high numbers of earthquakes have been recorded.

7/30/07 -
TANZANIA - Members of the Maasai community living around Oldonyo L'engai mountain of Ngorongoro have refused to vacate the area, despite recent advisory from local authorities, that the active volcano in the vicinity may erupt due to ongoing tremors. The local residents said that some experts have just assured them that the volcanic mountain will not erupt in two centuries time. The Maasai have also expressed their surprise regarding what they described as recent 'speculations' that the L'engai Volcano had both 'erupted' and 'caused damage.' The residents refuted reports of serious eruption, though they admitted that the Mountain had been releasing some fumes in the last ten days. Being the epicenter for the ongoing series of earthquakes, the area around the L'engai has been suffering from constant tremors and rumblings, however as far as the local residents are concerned, it is a 'normal' occurrence and doesn't necessarily spell danger. As it happens, the entire area surrounding both Oldonyo L'engai and the adjacent Lake Natron have, since last week, been experiencing a number gigantic earth movements resulting in rocks catapulting into the air. Oldonyo L'engai is the only volcano in the world that erupts Natro-carbonatite, a highly fluid lava, containing almost no silicon. About 15 tremors have so far rocked the area and out of those 13 were minor quakes, while the two that struck on July 15 were so big that some of the ridges criss-crossing the vast landscape cracked and threw out huge rocks, some of which hit and damaged a number of residential houses in the vicinity. Similar incidents have been reported in Engaruka parts of Monduli where the surrounding hills have been sending huge rocks down due to the quakes. However reports were refuted that some school buildings in Engaruka had collapsed due to the volcano. Only one house suffered deep cracks but it was due to tremors, not the volcano. Two girls of Orkum village were hit by rocks while drawing water from a deep valley. The tremors caused the rock above to fall below where the children were. They both suffered only minor injuries. This is also contrary to some reports that the children had been scalded by volcanic lava. A March 2006 major volcanic eruption was the first ferocious eruption to be recorded since 1966.

7/29/07 -
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO - The submarine volcano located five miles east of Trinidad, off Radix Point, poses localised threats only to boaters. The Seismic Research Unit at the University of the West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago said it received reports from divers two months ago of activity in the area and over that period the extrusion of mud "appears to have built up a 15 metre (50 feet) high mount which is now just below the water surface". (photo)

7/27/07 -
RUSSIA - Residents of Kamchatka in far eastern Russia are on alert for yet another volcano eruption. With two volcanoes continuously active for the past 11 years, the Russian Academy of Sciences is warning seismic activity has intensified at a third volcano, the Bezymyanny. An eruption occurred at Bezymyanny in May with heated gas, steam and rock fragments pouring down the volcano slope onto the village of Klyuchi some 25 miles away. Weak tremors have been recorded on the surface of the volcano along with a minor thermal anomaly that exceeds the air temperature by some nine degrees. Monitoring of the Bezymyanny volcano has been continual because eruptions occur quite suddenly approximately twice each year.

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO - The roiling waters in an area larger than a football field off Trinidad's east coast may be a sign of a growing mud volcano on the ocean floor, which is emitting methane gas along with mud and sediment, experts believe. The gas bubbling to the surface could decrease the buoyancy of the water and sink any ships that venture near. At the center of muddy brown water, waves are foaming and the water appears to be bulging. (photo)
The mud spewing out of the sea 8km off the eastern coast of Trinidad could form a temporary island. The mud is pouring out of an opening or several openings in an underwater hill or mountain at a depth of 12-15m near the Point Radix coast. “It's probably looking more and more like a mud volcano. Waves are breaking around it, which suggests that it is just below the water surface, so it's only a matter of time when it breaches the surface. Even if a so-called island is formed, it will eventually submerge because it is made of mud and is loose." A similar event occurred in 2001 off Erin Bay in the southern region of the oil and gas-producing twin-island nation, when a mud volcano rose 1.5m above sea level, creating an island that collapsed after several days. In 1997, a mud volcano erupted on land, burying 10 houses in the central village of Piparo. Villagers had reported rumblings days before. Trinidad's eastern coast is a major area for oil and gas exploration and several companies have flown over the Point Radix coast to determine whether the mud eruption would affect their exploration operations.

HAWAII - A magnitude 3.2 earthquake shook the lower east rift zone of Kilauea Thursday morning at 8:59 a.m., but it isn't clear if the quake will have any effect on the ongoing eruption. The earthquake was centered beneath Pu'ulena crater at a depth of about two miles. The eruption that began on July 21 from a series of fissures east of Pu'u 'O'o is continuing, with lava mainly ponding in the area surrounding the fissures. However, one fissure is still supplying lava to an 'a'a flow that is moving slowly southeast. Scientists warned the vent areas are dangerous, and access to the eruption site is closed.

7/26/07 -
HAWAII - The state Department of Land and Natural Resources, citing severe hazards in the region, has closed the entire Kahauale'a Natural Area Reserve to public access. The hazards are associated with the three erupting volcanic vents on Kilauea's East Rift Zone. Specific threats include numerous large cracks that are continuing to form in the area, the threat of wildfire from the lava flows, toxic fumes and the likelihood that lava contained in ponds above ground level will spill suddenly, overcoming anyone who may be nearby. Additionally, areas around the Pu'u 'O'o vent, the previous eruption site, are collapsing, The eruption is not doing serious damage to the forest, largely because current flows are are running out over lavas that flowed in the area from 1986 to 1992. "At this point, it's flowing over flows of 15 years ago that do not have much vegetative cover." ( Fissure webcam)

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO - Odd - Undersea Volcano? - Fishermen and small craft operators have been warned to avoid sailing offshore at Point Radix, Ortoire as emergency agencies investigate reports of an active underwater volcano. Authorities issued safety warnings for ships and other vessels to exercise caution off the Point Radix coastline. However, they say it is too early to say what the nature of the activity out at sea is. The suspected volcanic activity was discovered some five miles off Point Radix on Monday. An exploratory expedition to the area was only able to get within 500 feet of the activity. “We were unable to get closer to the activity because of the strong currents associated with the system which started to swirl the boat as we got closer.” At one time, the activity appeared to be pulling the boat toward it. Yesterday, Point Radix residents expressed fear about the phenomenon which could be seen by binoculars as a white foamy circular line in an ocean of blue. The activity had been evident for some time but appeared to intensify over the past few days forcing fishermen to stop going out at sea. “I just pray that what happen in Montserrat don’t happen here." One resident doubted the activity was a volcano and suggested it may be a strong ocean current. “If it were a volcano, it wouldn’t have a long trail behind.” Another villager stated the activity was not a volcano but an “oil vein.” The Head of the Seismic unit noted the activity could not be termed as being volcanic and could not be compared to the Montserrat volcano.

7/25/07 -
KENYA, TANZANIA - Tremors were reported on the weekend in parts of Kenya including Nairobi. The vibrations were less intense compared to the tremors experienced in the last two weeks. The Ol Doinyo Lengai volcanic mountain in northern Tanzania that is at the epicentre of the tremors is still spewing fires. Families living around the volcanic mountain are living in fear following the eruption that has been happening in the past 10 days. A number of houses and schools near the mountain have been destroyed by the tremors and eruption. Thousands of wildlife including lions, wildebeest, giraffe, zebras and gazelles have migrated. Helpless locals were trying to come to terms with the effects of the eruptions and tremors. "We are living in fear. We have never experienced tremors of such magnitude before. We don't know where we can go." Residents have been sleeping in the cold since the tremors started 14 days ago. A number of pregnant women have given birth prematurely due to the impact of the tremors. "It shakes everything. Spews fires and leaves small neighbouring hills tumbling down." Residents said they feared no help would reach them in time if the tremors continued, due to impassable roads and a poor communication network in the area.

7/24/07 -
COSTA RICA - scientists are keeping an eye on Turrialba Volcano, on the Caribbean-slope, where thousands of small earthquakes have occurred over the past couple of days. The volcano recently registered more than 2,000 “mini-earthquakes” too faint to be felt by residents. “This seismi