Saturday, October 27, 2007

Krakatau Volcano, Indonesia - John Seach

Krakatau volcano in Indonesia has been raised to level 3 alert (out of maximum 4), after an increase in volcanic earthquakes and gas emission. Over the past 3 days, there have been 20 tremors per hour, compared to a background level of 5 per hour. People have been advised to avoid the area.

Krakatau (Krakatoa) Volcano lies in Sunda Strait between Sumatra and Java Islands. It belongs to Lampung Province. Krakatau Volcanic Complex consists of Rakata, Sertung, Panjang and Anak Krakatau Islands. Anak Krakatau is the currently active centre at the volcano and emerged from the sea in 1930.

Krakatau became famous after the paroxysmal eruption on August 27, 1883. The volcano erupted more than 18 cubic km of ash to a height of 80 km, and produced a tsunami as high as 30 m along the west coast of Banten and south coast of Lampung. The tsunami hit 295 villages and killed over 36,000 people.
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Thursday, October 25, 2007

Soputan Volcano, Indonesia - John Seach

Soputan volcano in Indonesia erupted at 12:45 pm 25th October 2007, local time. Hundreds of residents from a number of villages in Southeast Minahasa district were evacuated. Soputan volcano is located in northern Sulawesi, situated on a SSW-NNE fracture zone. Historical eruptions have taken place at the summit and a NE flank vent (Aeseput).
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Indonesian Earthquake, Magnitude 7.1, 25th October 2007 - John Seach

A major earthquake (magnitude 7.1) hit Indonesia this morning at 04:02 am local time. The earthquake epicentre was located 90 km off the coast of Southern Sumatra. A tsunami watch was declared, affecting coastline within a 100 km of the epicentre. There are seven active volcanoes within 200 km of the epicentre. These are Kaba, Bukit Daun, Belirang-Beriti, Pendan, Kunyit, Sumbing, and Hutapanjang. Earthquakes of this magnitude sometimes disrupt nearby volcanoes.
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Saturday, October 20, 2007

Kelut Volcano, Indonesia - John Seach

Kelut Volcano in Indonesia remains dangerous, with signs of an imminent eruption. On Friday 19th October 2007 there was volcanic tremor recorded for an hour. This indicates magma is trying to break through to the surface. Summit lake temperature has further increased to 38.1 deg C. Five people have been taken to hospital after breathing poisonous gas while working on their farms. Earlier this month two photographers fainted while approaching the crater.

Kelut volcano has been the location of some of Indonesia's most deadly eruptions.Kelut is located about 90 kilometers from Indonesia's second largest city of Surabaya.Typical eruptions are short and violent, and produce pyroclastic flows and lahars. The crater lake contained 38 million cubic metres of water before a series of tunnels was made in 1926 to keep the water level at 1.8 million cubic metres (1133 m above sea level).
In 1901 ash fell at Serang 650 km from the volcano. Lava flows have not been detected in historical times.
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Ol Doinyo Lengai Volcano, Tanzania - John Seach

A pilot report indicated an eruption of Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano in Tanzania occurred at 8:30 am local time Friday 19th October 2007. An ash plume reached 25,000 ft altitude, and was visible from a distance of 50 miles. The eruption lasted 30 minutes.

The volcano has an impressive cone shape and rises above the plain from Lake Natron. The cone is composed of ash and reaches a maximum slope of 42 deg. Ol Doinyo Lengai Volcano has the coolest lava of any volcano. It erupts at less than 600 deg C.

Most eruptions at the volcano are small. Larger than normal eruptions occurred in 1917 when vegetation was destroyed on the volcano and ashfall caused destruction of grazing land and death of herds of masai cattle. An eruption in 1940-41 lasted for six months and ash fell 100 km from the volcano.
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Thursday, October 18, 2007

Kelut Volcano, Indonesia - John Seach

Kelut Volcano in Indonesia has been raised to maximum level 4 alert after signs an eruption is imminent. Volcanic earthquakes, increased lake temperatures, ground deformation, and visual observation all indicate an eruption is likely. Mandatory evacuations of people within 10 km of the volcano began late Tuesday. More than 100,000 people are affected by the evacuation order. On Wednesday morning many evacuees returned to the danger zone becacause of lack of food in the temporary centres, and saying they must tend to their crops. There are currently 14 volcanoes in Indonesia on raised alert level.
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Bulusan Volcano, Philippines - John Seach

Heavy rain caused lahars at Bulusan volcano in the Philippines last night. Nearly 200 residents in Irosin and Cogon were evacuated. Eruptions of Bulusan earlier this month created six new vents. Three vents were created on southeast slope and three on northwest slope. Residents are advised to stay away from the 4 km permanent exclusion zone. A press release from PHIVOLCS advises "Residents of areas beyond the (four-km permanent danger zone) that are downwind of the crater are likely to be affected by ashfalls during explosions. Furthermore, residents near river/ stream channels around the volcano should also be on alert against life-threatening volcanic mudflows (lahars) during heavy rains which might remobilize ash and loose deposits from the upper slopes."
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