Volcano

Evacuations underway in Philippines as volcano at Mt Kanlaon erupts

A plume of hot ash and gases up to three kilometres high forced residents to seek shelter after a volcano in the Philippines erupted on Monday. There were no immediate reports of casualties in the latest explosion of Mount Kanlaon, on central Negros island, but authorities shut schools and imposed a nighttime curfew after several villages were hit by ashfalls that clouded the the visibility of motorists and sparked health concerns. It sounded like a cannon, Mayor Jose Chubasco Cardenas of Canlaon city, which lies southeast of the volcano, told The Associated Press by telephone. There have been quiet eruptions before, but this was one very loud. Disaster-response officials raised the danger level around Kanlaon due to a greater risk of hazardous volcanic activity and ordered villagers within a six-kilometre radius of the crater to be evacuated. About 100 people had fled to emergency shelters in Canlaon by nightfall after the mid-afternoon volcanic eruption, Cardenas said. The number

Indonesia's volcanic eruption grounds flights on tourist island of Bali

Several international airlines canceled flights to and from Indonesia's tourist island of Bali on Wednesday as an ongoing volcanic eruption left travelers stranded at airports. Tourists told The Associated Press that they have been stuck at Bali's airport since Tuesday after their flights were suddenly canceled. The airline did not provide accommodation, leaving us stranded at this airport, said Charlie Austin from Perth, Australia, who was on vacation in Bali with his family. Another Australian tourist, Issabella Butler, opted to find another airline that could fly her home. The important thing is that we have to be able to get out of here, she said. Media reports said that thousands of people were stranded at airports in Indonesia and Australia, but an exact number wasn't given. Indonesia's Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki volcano on the remote island of Flores in East Nusa Tenggara province spewed towering columns of hot ash high into the air since its initial huge eruption on Novembe

Volcanic eruption burns houses in Indonesia, killing at least six people

Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency said Monday that at least six people have died as a series of volcanic eruptions widens on the remote island of Flores. The eruption at Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki just after midnight on Monday spewed thick brownish ash as high as 2,000 meters (6,500 feet) into the air and hot ashes hit a nearby village, burning down several houses including a convent of Catholic nuns, said Firman Yosef, an official at the Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki monitoring post. The Disaster Management Agency lowered the known death toll from an earlier report of nine, saying it had received updated information from local authorities. It said that information was still being collected about the extent of casualties and damage, as local media reports said more people were buried in collapsed houses. Authorities also raised the danger level and widened the danger zone for Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki on Monday, following a series of eruptions that began last week. The countr

Indonesia's Mount Ibu erupts, spewing red lava, dark clouds into sky

Indonesia's Mount Ibu spewed red lava and thick grey ash clouds that towered 5,000 meters (16,400 feet) into the sky during a two-minute eruption Tuesday morning. The eruption spewed thick ash toward the volcano's west and northwest sides, said Muhammad Wafid, chief of Indonesia's Geology Agency. A timelapse video distributed by Indonesia's Geological agency shows red sparks at the top of the volcano followed by a thick column of ash. The video was recorded from an observation post located next to an evacuation site in a field at Gam Ici village. Several evacuation tents were erected nearby. Mount Ibu has been continually erupting almost every day since early May. Indonesian authorities raised an eruption alert to the highest level following a series of eruptions, as thousands of deep volcanic earthquakes and visual activities from Mount Ibu have significantly increased. Authorities urged people to stay at least 7 kilometers (4.4 miles) from the 1,325-meter (4,347-foot) ...

Airport near volcano reopens as Indonesia lowers eruption alert level

Indonesian authorities reopened an international airport near a volcano that erupted last week as they lowered a warning level on Monday. Sam Ratulangi airport has been closed since Thursday due to eruptions at nearby Mount Ruang. Indonesia's Disaster Management Agency lowered the volcano's alert level from four, the second-highest level, to three, but said residents were still ordered to remain at least 4 kilometers (2.7 miles) away from the mountain. More than 3,000 residents have been evacuated since Thursday due to dangers including ash, falling rocks, hot volcanic clouds and fears of a tsunami. A joint team from the local authorities combed the villages surrounding the volcano and evacuated residents by boat. Danger continued with the possibility of small-scale eruptions, which could cause rock slides and other damage in the immediate area of the volcano. Officials opened the airport after satellite imagery showed that rains had washed away volcanic ash covering the ...

Over 2,100 people evacuated as Indonesian volcano spews clouds of ash

More than 2,100 people living near an erupting volcano on Indonesia's Sulawesi Island were evacuated Friday due to the dangers of spreading ash, falling rocks, hot volcanic clouds and the possibility of a tsunami. Indonesia's Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation recorded at least three eruptions since Friday afternoon, with the maximum height of the eruption column reaching 1,200 meters (3,900 feet). An international airport in Manado city, less than 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the erupting Mount Ruang, is still temporarily closed as volcanic ash was spewed into the air. Satellite imagery from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency shows the ash has spread to the west, northwest, northeast and southeast, covering Manado and North Minahasa, according to a statement from Indonesia's Transportation Ministry. We are still monitoring developments in the eruption of Mount Ruang and coordinating with relevant stakeholders to anticipate the necessary acti

Indonesia under tsunami alert as country witnesses big volcanic eruptions

Indonesian authorities issued a tsunami alert Wednesday after eruptions at Ruang mountain sent ash thousands of feet high. Officials ordered more than 11,000 people to leave the area. The volcano on the northern side of Sulawesi island had at least five large eruptions in the past 24 hours, Indonesia's Centre for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation said. Authorities raised their volcano alert to its highest level. At least 800 residents left the area earlier Wednesday. Indonesia, an archipelago of 270 million people, has 120 active volcanoes. It is prone to volcanic activity because it sits along the Ring of Fire, a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines around the Pacific Ocean. Authorities urged tourists and others to stay at least 6 km (3.7 miles) from the 725-metre (2,378 foot) Ruang volcano. Officials worry that part of the volcano could collapse into the sea and cause a tsunami as in a 1871 eruption there. Tagulandang island to the volcano's northeast is

Some airlines suspend flights in Mexico due to ash and smoke from Volcano

Many airlines in Mexico suspended flights due to ash and smoke emanating from a volcano and advised travellers to stay informed through official airport channels

Indonesia evacuates about 6,500 on island of Flores after volcano spews ash

Indonesia has evacuated about 6,500 people on the island of Flores after Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki volcano spewed thick clouds of brownish ash for the past days, authorities said on Monday. No casualties or major damage have been reported so far. The eruptions in East Nusa Tenggara province are part of hot gas spills that have become more frequent in recent days. The 1,584-meter (5,197 foot) mountain is one of the twin volcanoes the Lewotobi Laki-laki and Lewotobi Perempuan in the Flores Timur district. The volcano has erupted 40 times since Sunday, with columns of hot clouds rising 500-1,500 meters (1,600-4,900 feet) into the air. Residents in nearby villages were taken in by relatives or brought to evacuation centers as authorities raised the volcano's alert status to the highest level last Tuesday. Officials urge the local community, as well as visitors and tourists, to stay away from a 4-kilometer (2.5-mile) radius around the eruption zone and be aware of the potential for co

Volcano erupts in southwest Iceland, send lava flowing towards settlement

A volcano has erupted in southwestern Iceland, sending semi-molten rock spewing toward a nearby settlement for the second time in less than a month. The eruption on Sunday morning came after a swarm of earthquakes near the town of Grindavik, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said. The community was evacuated overnight, Iceland's RUV television reported. Lava is flowing a few hundred metres north of the town, this is 400 to 500 metres,' Kristn Jnsdttir from the Icelandic Meteorological Office told Iceland's RUV television. Lava flows towards Grindavik. Residents of Grindavik were previously evacuated from their homes in November and had to stay away from the town for six weeks following a series of earthquakes and an eventual volcanic eruption. They were allowed to return on December 22. Iceland, which sits above a volcanic hot spot in the North Atlantic, averages an eruption every four to five years. The most disruptive in recent times was the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokul

Indonesia's Mount Marapi erupts again, leads to evacuations, no casualties

Indonesia's Mount Marapi erupted again on Sunday, spewing smoke and ash high into the air, but no casualties were reported. The Marapi Volcano Observation Post in West Sumatra province recorded an eruption with an ash column about 1,300 meters (4,265 feet) high from its peak, followed by ash rain. Sprays of ash from the eruption were seen blanketing roads and vehicles in nearby villages. At least 100 residents have been evacuated since Friday after Indonesian authorities raised the alert level of the volcano from Level 2 to Level 3, or the second-highest level, on Wednesday. Marapi is known for sudden eruptions that are difficult to predict because they are not caused by a deep movement of magma, which sets off tremors that register on seismic monitors. Its eruption in early December shot thick columns of ash as high as 3 kilometers (more than 9,800 feet) that killed 24 climbers and injured several others who were caught by a surprise weekend eruption. About 1,400 people live on .

More bodies found after sudden eruption of Indonesia's Mount Marapi

Rescuers searching the hazardous slopes of Indonesia's Mount Marapi volcano found the last body of climbers who were caught by a surprise weekend eruption, raising the number of confirmed dead to 23, officials said Wednesday. About 75 climbers started their way up the nearly 2,900-metre mountain in Agam district of West Sumatra province on Saturday and became stranded. Some 52 climbers were rescued after the initial eruption Sunday, and 11 others were initially confirmed dead. New eruptions on Monday and Tuesday spewed more hot ash as high as 800 metres into the air, reducing visibility and temporarily halting search and recovery operations, said Abdul Malik, chief of the Padang Search and Rescue Agency. The bodies of two climbers were located on Monday and nine more on Tuesday, the National Search and Rescue Agency said. West Sumatra's Police Chief Suharyono said the body of the last climber was found early Wednesday, just a few metres from the eruption site, bringing the death to

Indonesia: Marapi volcano erupts again, halting search for missing climbers

Indonesian authorities halted the search for 12 climbers after Mount Marapi volcano erupted again Monday, spewing a new burst of hot ash as high as 800 meters (2,620 feet) into the air, officials said. The bodies of 11 climbers were recovered earlier in the day but attempts to move them were hindered by the renewed eruption, West Sumatra's Search and Rescue Agency head Abdul Malik said. The search operation would resume once conditions improved, he added. A video released by the agency showed rescuers evacuating an injured climber on a stretcher off the mountain and into a waiting ambulance to be taken to hospital. Marapi initially erupted on Sunday spewing clouds of hot ash. The volcano has stayed at the third highest of four alert levels since 2011, a level indicating above-normal volcanic activity, prohibiting climbers and villagers within 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) of the peak, said Hendra Gunawan, the head of the Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation. This m

11 bodies recovered, 22 missing after volcanic eruption in Indonesia

The bodies of 11 climbers were recovered Monday after a furious eruption of the Mount Marapi volcano as Indonesian rescuers searched for at least 22 others reportedly missing. Mount Marapi in Agam district in West Sumatra province spewed thick columns of ash as high as 3,000 meters (9,800 feet) into the sky in a sudden eruption Sunday and hot ash clouds spread several miles (kilometers). Villages and nearby towns were blanketed by tons of volcanic debris. About 75 climbers started their way up the nearly 2,900-meter (9,480-foot) mountain on Saturday and became stranded. Eight of those rescued Sunday were rushed to hospitals with burn wounds and one also had a broken limb, said Hari Agustian, an official at the local Search and Rescue Agency in Padang, the provincial capital. West Sumatra's Search and Rescue Agency head Abdul Malik said rescuers on Monday morning found 11 bodies of climbers as they searched for those who still missing and rescued three others. The evacuation proces

Iceland clears town near Blue Lagoon due to volcanic eruption risk

Authorities have been on alert after weeks of tremors indicated a magma intrusion is forming underground close to Grindavik on the Reykjanes peninsula

String of volcanic tremors raises fears of mass evacuations in Italy

Hundreds of small tremors have shaken a densely populated volcanic area west of the Italian city of Naples in recent weeks, pushing the government to quickly redraft mass evacuation plans, even though experts don't see an imminent risk of eruption. In the latest of a long string of tremors, a 4.0-magnitude earthquake hit the region of Campi Flegrei (Phlegraean Fields) Monday. The region is home to a caldera, a cauldron-shaped depression left behind by the eruption of a very large volcano. The one in Campi Flegri is the largest in Europe and last erupted in 1538. A new explosion would put half a million inhabitants at risk. Monday's tremor followed a 4.2-magnitude quake recorded last week, the strongest in the area for 40 years, according to the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV). Experts at INGV have warned authorities and residents that tremors could intensify in the near future as seismic activity continues. However, they have clarified that the intensity of

Tourists received no safety warnings before New Zealand volcano killed 22

Tourists received no health and safety warnings before they landed on New Zealand's most active volcano ahead of a 2019 eruption that killed 22 people, a prosecutor said Tuesday. There were 47 people on White Island, the tip of an undersea volcano also known by its Indigenous Maori name Whakaari, when superheated steam erupted on December 9. Most of the 25 people who survived were severely burned. The island's owners, brothers Andrew, James and Peter Buttle, their company Whakaari Management Ltd. and tour operators I.D. Tours NZ Ltd. and Tauranga Tourism Services Ltd. went on trial Tuesday in Auckland District Court for allegedly failing to adequately protect tourists and staff. Prosecutor Kristy McDonald said in opening the prosecution case that the eruption at the popular tourist destination was not predictable but was foreseeable. The 20 tourists and two tour guides who died were given no warning of the risks, she said. They were not given the opportunity to make any informed .

Eruption of Philippines' most active volcano may last for months: Expert

The 2,460-metre, cone-shaped Mayon volcano began erupting on June 8, while its alert level was raised to 3 on a scale of 5

Lava pours from Mayon volcano, thousands warned to be ready to flee

Lava poured from the crater of the Philippines' most active volcano Monday, prompting officials to warn tens of thousands of villagers to be prepared to flee if the gentle eruption turns into a violent and life-threatening explosion. More than 13,000 people have left the mostly poor farming communities within a 6-kilometre radius of Mayon volcano's crater in mandatory evacuations since volcanic activity increased last week. But an unspecified number of residents remain within the permanent danger zone below Mayon, an area long declared off-limits to people but where generations have lived and farmed because they have nowhere else to go. With the volcano beginning to expel lava Sunday night, the high-risk zone around Mayon may be expanded should the eruption turn violent, said Teresito Bacolcol, director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. Bacolcol said if that happens, people in any expanded danger zone should be prepared to evacuate to emergency shelters. "Wh

Hawaii Kilauea Volcanic Eruption after 3 months break, details inside

According to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory of the U.S. Geological Survey, early morning webcam images from Kilauea's summit already showed a glow