© Museum Victoria, AustraliaMt. Kooroocheang is a composite scoria/lava volcano 14km northeast of Creswick, Victoria. At 230m high it is one of the largest volcanoes in Central Victoria.
Scientist have told a conference it is only a matter of time before volcanoes erupt in Victoria, and warned there is no disaster plan for when it happens.
According to scientists at Melbourne University, a series of volcanoes in Victoria's west are well overdue to erupt.
Eruptions should occur in the region about every 2000 years, but the south-east of the country hasn't experienced any volcanic activity since Mt Gambier erupted over 5000 years ago.
Earth Sciences Professor Bernie Joyce said this means the chance of an eruption is high, and that while the scale of any activity is hard to predict, it "could cause devastation to thousands of people".
It isn't the eruption that would necessarily do the damage, Prof Joyce said, but if rising magma meets ground water it could cause steam explosions that would blanket the state in volcanic ash, leading to widespread disruptions to critical infrastructure and transport.
Lava flows would also represent a "major fire hazard on the dry grassland plains of summer in western Victoria".
Professor Joyce said that an eruption would most likely be around Colac, Port Fairy, Portland or Mt Gambier, areas which do not have pre-prepared responses in place for volcanic activity.
The research will be presented today at the XXV International Congress of Geodesy and Geophysics in Melbourne.
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