Volcanoes
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Bizarro Earth

Best of the Web: Volcanic hell: Japan entering new stage of geological upheaval

Stuart Biggs and Chisaki Watanabe
Bloomberg
Fri, 04 Feb 2011 11:35 UTC
shinmoedake
© Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images A plume of smoke rises from the crater of Mount Shinmoedake in the Kirishima mountain range of Kagoshima prefecture, Japan.
Shinmoedake, a volcano on Japan's southern island of Kyushu, erupted again as the government said it will send officials to the area to help local authorities create an evacuation plan.

The 1,421-meter (4,660 feet) volcano in the Kirishima range erupted at 9:42 a.m. local time following three eruptions yesterday, sending a plume of ash and smoke as high as 3,000 meters, a branch division of the agency said in a statement. The plume was drifting east-northeast toward Miyazaki Prefecture's Pacific coastline, the statement said.

The government plans to send a group of natural disaster officials to the area as early as Feb. 7, Shigeo Ochi, an official at the Cabinet Office, said in a telephone interview today. Japan's Meteorological Agency is maintaining a level 3 alert for Shinmoedake, indicating an eruption "may seriously affect places near residential areas." Evacuations are carried out when the alert reaches the maximum 5.
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Bizarro Earth

Japan volcano resumes activity


upi
Wed, 02 Feb 2011 19:13 UTC
Tokyo - Japan's Mount Shinmoe, active for a week, erupted twice Wednesday ejecting lava, smoke and ash that threatened a nearby town, meteorologists said.

The eruptions from the volcano on Kyushu in southwest Japan occurred in the morning, CNN reported. The activity began Jan. 26, the first such in decades, experts said.

In the town of Takaharu, with a population of 1,159, residents were advised to evacuate as volcanic ash covered their homes, streets and vehicles and caused flight cancellations. Hundreds of people had already fled.

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Smoking

Phivolcs: Taal Volcano shows increased activity


gma news
Wed, 02 Feb 2011 12:16 UTC
Taal Volcano in Batangas showed heightened activity anew after at least 10 volcanic quakes around it were recorded in the last 24 hours.

In its 8 a.m. Wednesday bulletin, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the alert level at Taal remains at "1."

"Taal Volcano's status at Alert Level 1 means that a hazardous eruption is not imminent. However, the public is reminded that the Main Crater should be strictly off-limits due to sudden occurrence of steam explosions and accumulation of toxic gases," it said.

Phivolcs said the northern rim of the Volcano's main crater - in the vicinity of Daang Kastila trail - may also be dangerous when increased steam emission is reactivated along existing fissures.

Phivolcs reminded the public that the entire Volcano Island is a Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ), and permanent settlement in the island is strictly not recommended.
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Bizarro Earth

Shinmoedake volcano erupts again with big blast of ash, rocks

Eric Talmadge
Associated Press
Tue, 01 Feb 2011 08:53 UTC
Image
© AP Photo/Kyodo NewsA dome of lava grows larger inside the crater of Mount Shinmoedake in the Kirishimna range on Japan's southernmost main island of Kyushu Monday, Jan. 31, 2011. Officials urged more than 1,000 residents to seek safer ground on Monday and expanded a no-access zone around the 4,662-foot (1,421-meter) volcano that has exploded back to life. The volcano erupted last week for the first time in 52 years.
A revived volcano in southern Japan erupted Tuesday with its biggest explosion yet, shooting out a huge plume of gas, boulders and ash and breaking windows 5 miles (8 kilometers) away.

The danger zone around Shinmoedake volcano was widened to keep residents safe. The largest eruption since it burst back to life last week covered wide areas in ash, shot boulders onto distant roads, knocked down trees and broke hundreds of windows in hotels and offices.

No serious injuries have been reported since the initial eruption last Wednesday, but public broadcaster NHK said a woman suffered cuts from shattered glass in Tuesday's blast.

NHK said the eruption was five times larger than the initial activity last week, which was Shinmoedake's first major eruption in 52 years.

Japan's Meteorological Agency has restricted access to the mountain, and on Tuesday broadened the no-go zone to anywhere within a 2 1/2-mile (four-kilometer) radius of the crater. Two lodges and scattered homes are within the perimeter.

Dozens of domestic flights in and out of Miyazaki - about 590 miles (950 kilometers) southwest of Tokyo - were grounded last week and more cancellations followed. Train service was temporarily suspended in the area and many schools closed.

The local government also reported damages to crops.
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Bizarro Earth

Swarm of nine earthquakes at Mount St. Helens


KING5.com
Sun, 30 Jan 2011 10:46 UTC
Mount St. Helens, Washington - A series of nine small earthquakes shook an area near Mount St. Helens over the weekend.

mt.st.helens
© Susan Wyatt/ KING 5 News
Seismologists at the University of Washington have been monitoring the quakes.

A 2.6 quake occurred at 2:26 p.m. on Saturday about six miles north of the volcano. Another quake, a 2.5, occurred at 2:44 p.m. in the same area. The depth for both quakes was two miles. Another quake occurred six miles north-northwest at 10:48 p.m. That measured 2.2 and was 2.2 miles deep.

Smaller quakes, ranging from magnitude 1.3 to 2.2, occurred on Sunday.
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Camera

Photo: Eruption of Colima Volcano As Seen From Orbit


Earth Observatory
Mon, 31 Jan 2011 10:19 UTC
Colima Volcano, Mexico's most active, has been erupting since 1998. The eruption began with several months of earthquakes beneath the volcano, followed by explosions and rockfalls at the summit lava dome as it began to grow.

colima volcano
Dome growth was accompanied months later by a series of lava flows which cascaded down the southwestern flank of the mountain, stretching up to 3,100 meters (10,000 feet) from the summit. Since then dome growth has continued, with a few periods of actively flowing lava. As of March 2010, the dome was growing about 2,000 cubic meters (70,000) cubic feet a day, leading to frequent small rockfalls and occasional ash plumes. In January 2011, local newspapers reported "dust plumes" rising over Colima, likely pulverized lava stirred up by landslides at the summit dome.
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Bizarro Earth

Hundreds evacuate as Japan volcano erupts


Agence France-Presse
Mon, 31 Jan 2011 10:11 UTC
volcano
© AFPMount Shinmoedake has been belching smoke and ash into the air since late Wednesday
Tokyo - Hundreds of people living near a Japanese volcano that has been spewing columns of smoke and ash thousands of metres into the air were forced to evacuate their homes Monday, a local official said.

More than 600 residents of the town of Takaharu in Miyazaki prefecture, on the eastern outskirts of the erupting Mount Shinmoedake, were sheltering in school gyms and community halls, an official said.

Municipal authorities had issued an evacuation advisory for 1,158 residents in high-risk districts near the 1,421-metre (4,689-foot) volcano earlier Monday.
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Better Earth

Shinmoedake Peak in Japan Erupts Dramatically with Powerful Lightning Display

Jena Isle
batangastoday
Sun, 30 Jan 2011 23:20 UTC
Shinmoedake Peak in Japan erupted last January 26, 2011, and alert level was raised to 3 as of January 27, 2011. This is because the volcano spurted lava, 2.5 km into the air.

The volcanic eruption was accompanied with powerful lightning display and lava ejections, sending residents within 1.2 mile radius to evacuate. This is according to National Geographic.

Watching it from afar provides an "awesome" view of the eruption with the vibrant colors emitted by the volcanic lightning.

The Shinmoedake Peak is a part of the famous Mount Kirishima Volcano group, and is located in Kyushu. Included in the volcano group are Mount Karakuni, Mount Shinmoe, and Takachihonomine. The highest peak is Mount Karakuni which is 1,700 meters above sea level.
Image
© National GeographicVolcanic lightning flashes from Shinmoedake Peak.
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Bizarro Earth

Lightning and fire: Japan on alert after volcano's biggest eruption in 50 years


Daily Mail Online
Thu, 27 Jan 2011 11:35 UTC
A one-mile cordon has been established around a volcano on Mount Kirishima after it erupted scattering rocks and ash across southern Japan and sending smoke billowing 5,000ft into the air.

The Meteorological Agency raised the volcanic alert to level 3 as ash today continued to spew from Shinmoedake on Japan's southernmost main island of Kyushu, and residents have been banned from going within a mile of the volcano following its worst eruption in 50 years.

Image
© ReutersForce of nature: Lightning strikes as Shinmoedake erupts, scattering ash and rocks across a wide swathe of southern Japa
Image
© ReutersVolcanic lightning or a dirty thunderstorm is seen above Shinmoedake peak as it erupts
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Bizarro Earth

Indonesia Mount Bromo volcano erupts


New Straits Times
Thu, 27 Jan 2011 06:53 UTC
Mount Bromo volcano
© Unknown
Jakarta - Several international flights to and from the resort island of Bali were cancelled or diverted Thursday to avoid dangerous ash spewing from an Indonesian volcano, officials said.

Ash from rumbling Mount Bromo, a popular attraction in East Java province, had spread to the island popular with foreign tourists and surfers.

"We received information from Darwin that the ash from Bromo has reached 5,500 metres in the southeast direction and has affected some parts of Bali," transport ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan told AFP.

"As a safety precaution, we've sent out an advisory to airlines to warn them about the ash situation so air crew can avoid the affected areas," he added.

Indonesian aviation authorities were monitoring the situation but there were no plans to temporarily close the airport yet, he added.

"The airport is still open, some flights are still landing. We're checking how bad the situation is and how much worse it can get before deciding what the next step will be," Ervan said.
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