A new bulletin reporting the activity of Chaitén and Llaima volcanoes in Chile, dated 10 November 2008, has been issued by SERNAGEOMIN. Translation as follows:

10.11.2008 SERNAGEOMIN Report on the Eruptive Activity of Chaitén and Llaima Volcanoes

Chaitén volcano

On Wednesday 5 November 2008, because of the heavy rain that has affectd the area since Monday 3 November, Chaitén river (known as the river Blanco by the local population) overflowed, flooding the southern bank of the river and the houses in this area.

At the same time, the seismic activity of the volcano (principally HB-type earthquakes) from 20 September to date, have shown a marked increase although maintaining variability with periodic upswings.

The data obtained so far reaffirms that this seismic increase has been concentrated in the surface levels, thus being related to the extrusion of viscous lava from the dome which is continuing in eruption and is continuing to grow.

Given that the eruption and the consequent growth of the dome continues, the possibility of some phreatomagmatic type explosions in the area (lateral and vertical projection of ashes) cannot be ruled out. It is also possible that new floods of the Chaitén river will be generated, as well as blockages of the headwaters of the river which rises in the caldera, because of rockfalls towards the south, generated by partial collapses of the growing dome.

Llaima volcano

The volcano Llaima, for its part, has shown a low level of seismic activity during the latest period, in addition to occasional weak emissions of gas, principally composed of water vapour, from which we infer that the magmatic column continues to be somewhat active. In relation to the seismic activity, on 3 and 4 November after the network registered two VT-type earthquakes, of which, because of their low magnitudes (around 0.8 and 1.4 magnitude respectively), only the latter could be located, about 8km west-south-west of Melipeuco and at a depth of about 9.8km. The seismic energy released has remained low and stable, with a daily average of 20 units RSAM.

[End of bulletin.]

For all our Chaitén coverage: Chaitén « The Volcanism Blog.
For all our Llaima coverage: Llaima « The Volcanism Blog.

Information
Global Volcanism Program: Chaitén – information about Chaitén (1508-41)
Global Volcanism Program: Llaima – information about Llaima (1507-11=)
ONEMI, Oficina Nacional de Emergencia – Chilean government emergencies office (Spanish)
SERNAGEOMIN – Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería (Spanish)
Erupción del Volcán Chaitén – extensive coverage of the Chaitén eruption
Proyecto Observación Visual Volcán Llaima – Llaima Visual Observation Project