SI/USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report 28 October – 3 November 2009 5 November 2009
Posted by admin in Barren Island, Caribbean, Chaitén, Chile, Colombia, Dukono, Ebeko, Galeras, Hawaii, India, Indian Ocean, Indonesia, Japan, Kamchatka, Karangetang, Karymsky, Kilauea, Kliuchevskoi, Krakatau, Manam, Mexico, Nevado del Huila, Papua New Guinea, Popocatépetl, Rabaul, Sakura-jima, Shiveluch, Soufrière Hills, Suwanose-jima, United States, Weekly Volcanic Activity Reports, activity reports, eruptions.Tags: Global Volcanism Program, volcanic activity reports, volcanic eruptions
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The Smithsonian Institution/United States Geological Survey Weekly Volcanic Activity Report for 28 October – 3 November 2009 is available on the Global Volcanism Program website. The following is a summary and not a substitute for the full report.
- The current report: Weekly Volcanic Activity Report.
- Previous reports: Weekly Reports Archive.
- The SI/USGS map of volcanoes discussed this week.
New activity/unrest: Ebeko (Russia), Galeras (Colombia), Karangetang [Api Siau] (Indonesia), Manam (Papua New Guinea), Nevado del Huila (Colombia), Soufrière Hills (Montserrat).
Ongoing activity: Barren Island (India), Chaitén (Chile), Dukono (Indonesia), Karymsky (Russia), Kilauea (Hawaii, USA), Kliuchevskoi (Russia), Krakatau (Indonesia), Popocatépetl (Mexico), Rabaul (Papua New Guinea), Sakura-jima (Japan), Shiveluch (Russia), Suwanose-jima (Japan).
Galeras update, 4 November 2009 4 November 2009
Posted by admin in Colombia, Galeras, activity reports.Tags: Colombia, Galeras, South America, volcanic activity reports
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The alert level for the Colombian volcano Galeras remains at the second-highest level of Orange, ‘eruption likely within the next few days or weeks’. The latest INGEOMINAS bulletin, issued on 3 November at 18:00 local time, reports:
Seismic activity has increased both in number and in energy level; the events associated with the fracturing of crustal material are largely located in the vicinity of the main crater, at depths of less than 2 km and magnitudes of under 2. However in the last fifteen hours the seismicity has markedly declined.
Volcanic gas emissions have been low; particularly, in the last few days, no emissions of sulphur dioxide (SO2) have been detected.
The process of development at Galeras shows a similar behaviour to that recorded in the days leading up to the eruptive event of 30 September 2009.
The simultaneous threat of activity at Galeras and Nevado del Huila is exercising the minds of governmental and NGO officials in Colombia. Emergency authorities have estimated the number of people at ‘imminent risk’ from the two volcanoes at 9000, reports Caracol Radio, but there is the usual reluctance among those living in at-risk areas to evacuate: ‘The communities in the area of high risk are still unaware [of their danger], they have not evacuated to safe points’, complains Carlos Iván Márquez of the Colombian Red Cross.
For all our Galeras coverage: Galeras « The Volcanism Blog.
News
Nueve mil personas en riesgo por amenaza de erupción en volcán Galeras y Huila – Caracol Radio, 3 November 2009
Habitantes no atienden orden de evacuación – El Liberal, 4 November 2009
Information
Global Volcanism Program – Galeras – summary information for Galeras (1501-08=)
Portal Corporativo de INGEOMINAS – Instituto Colombiano de Geología y Minería
Observatorio Vulcanológico y Sismológico de Pasto – Pasto volcanological observatory main page
Alert level raised to Orange at Galeras 31 October 2009
Posted by admin in Colombia, Galeras, activity reports.Tags: Colombia, Galeras, South America, volcanic activity reports
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The INGEOMINAS Observatorio Vulcanológico y Sismológico de Pasto announced in a special bulletin on 30 October that it has raised the alert level at Galeras to the second-highest level of Orange (‘eruption probable within days or weeks’). There has been a ‘decline in [seismic] events related to degasification and an increase in earthquakes that are associated with overpressurization in the volcanic system’ and ‘a notable decline in emissions of sulphur dioxide’.
The INGEOMINAS volcanologists have concluded that magmatic material within the conduit has hardened, blocking the exit of gases and increasing pressure within the system, and they expect that pressure to be released through an explosive event – a cycle typical of Galeras’s current behaviour pattern.
Galeras joins fellow Colombian volcano Nevado del Huila at Orange alert. Colombia has a lot on its plate, volcanically speaking, at the moment.
For all our Galeras coverage: Galeras « The Volcanism Blog.
Information
Global Volcanism Program – Galeras – summary information for Galeras (1501-08=)
Portal Corporativo de INGEOMINAS – Instituto Colombiano de Geología y Minería
Observatorio Vulcanológico y Sismológico de Pasto – Pasto volcanological observatory main page
Alert levels lowered at Galeras and Cleveland 8 October 2009
Posted by admin in Alaska, Cleveland, Colombia, Galeras, United States, activity reports.Tags: Alaska, Cleveland, Colombia, Galeras, United States, volcanic activity reports
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Following the recent bursts of activity at Alaska’s Cleveland volcano and Galeras volcano in Colombia, things have quietened down and the alert levels for both volcanoes have been reduced by their respective observatories.
At Galeras, the INGEOMINAS Observatorio Vulcanológico y Sismológico de Pasto lowered the alert level to Yellow, ‘ Changes in the behaviour of the volcanic activity’, on 6 October. The level had already been lowered from Red to Orange on 1 October, following the eruption of 30 September.
Meanwhile, the 2 October eruption of Cleveland volcano on the Aleutian island of Chuginadak caused the Alaska Volcano Observatory to raise the alert level to Orange/Watch. There has been no eruptive activity since that brief outburst, and the AVO lowered the alert level to Yellow/Advisory on 5 October.
Information
Global Volcanism Program – Galeras – summary information for Galeras (1501-08=)
Observatorio Vulcanológico y Sismológico de Pasto – Pasto volcanological observatory main page
Global Volcanism Program: Cleveland – summary information for Cleveland (1101-24-)
AVO Cleveland Eruption Page – information on current activity at Cleveland
SI/USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report 30 September – 6 October 2009 8 October 2009
Posted by admin in Alaska, Batu Tara, Caribbean, Chaitén, Chile, Cleveland, Colombia, Dukono, Ecuador, Galeras, Gaua, Hawaii, Indonesia, Japan, Kamchatka, Karymsky, Kilauea, Kliuchevskoi, Mexico, Pacific, Papua New Guinea, Popocatépetl, Rabaul, Reventador, Russia, Sakura-jima, Sangay, Shiveluch, Soufrière Hills, Suwanose-jima, United States, Vanuatu, Weekly Volcanic Activity Reports, activity reports, eruptions.Tags: volcanic eruptions, volcanic activity reports, Global Volcanism Program
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Click on the map for a larger version (1280 x 898 pixels).
The Smithsonian Institution/United States Geological Survey Weekly Volcanic Activity Report for 30 September to 6 October 2009 is available on the Global Volcanism Program website. The following is a summary and not a substitute for the full report.
- The current report: Weekly Volcanic Activity Report.
- Previous reports: Weekly Reports Archive.
- The SI/USGS map of volcanoes discussed this week.
New activity/unrest: Chaitén (Chile), Cleveland (Alaska, USA), Galeras (Colombia), Gaua (Vanuatu), Karymsky (Russia), Kliuchevskoi (Russia), Sakura-jima (Japan), Shiveluch (Russia), Soufrière Hills (Montserrat).
Ongoing activity: Batu Tara (Indonesia), Dukono (Indonesia), Kilauea (Hawaii, USA), Langila (Papua New Guinea), Popocatépetl (México), Rabaul (Papua New Guinea), Reventador (Ecuador), Sangay (Ecuador), Suwanose-jima (Japan).
Alert level at Galeras lowered 1 October 2009
Posted by admin in Colombia, Galeras, activity reports, eruptions.Tags: Colombia, Galeras, South America, volcanic activity reports, volcanic eruptions
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Following yesterday’s eruption of Galeras volcano in southern Colombia, the INGEOMINAS Observatorio Vulcanológico y Sismológico de Pasto has lowered the alert level from the highest level of Red to the second-highest level of Orange (‘eruption likely in the next few days or weeks’).
The latest INGEOMINAS bulletin (1 October 2009, 11:30 local time) explains that since the eruption seismic activity at Galeras has fallen in both frequency and energy and SO2 emissions have returned to low levels, but warns that further eruptive activity can be expected:
It is considered that the volcanic process of Galeras remains unstable, suggesting conditions of a partially sealed system and the presence of magmatic material at shallow levels. Monitoring of the volcano has shown that in relatively short periods of time it is possible for consecutive eruptive events to be generated.
For all our Galeras coverage: Galeras « The Volcanism Blog.
Information
Global Volcanism Program – Galeras – summary information for Galeras (1501-08=)
Portal Corporativo de INGEOMINAS – Instituto Colombiano de Geología y Minería
Observatorio Vulcanológico y Sismológico de Pasto – Pasto volcanological observatory main page
Galeras update, 1 October 2009 1 October 2009
Posted by admin in Colombia, Galeras, activity reports, eruptions.Tags: Colombia, Galeras, South America, volcanic activity reports, volcanic eruptions
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Colombia’s Galeras volcano seems to be quiet again after yesterday’s eruption: there have been no new updates from the INGEOMINAS Observatorio Vulcanológico y Sismológico de Pasto since yesterday’s special bulletin.
Local emergency authorities confirmed that there were no injuries or deaths caused by this eruption, although a group of firemen fighting forest fires around the volcano just as the eruption began had a narrow escape. Diego Gómez, INGEOMINAS director for the province of Nariño, is quoted in La Patria as warning that further eruptive activity can be expected: ‘Galeras has not completed this process, and at any time we may have these phenomena’. In the same report it is noted that the usual emergency evacuation plans affecting 7-8000 people around the volcano have been set in motion following the eruption, and are meeting with the usual indifference from the local population:
Faced with the repetition of these phenomena, the population has at last lost respect for the volcano and many believe that they will not do anything ordered by the authorities.
‘The truth is that nothing has happened and we do not fear the volcano, which is our friend’, says Figueredo Mosquera, an inhabitant of the village of Genoy, in Pasto, located in the zone of high risk.
Other people have gone to the shelters, but according to official reports, the occupation does not exceed one percent.
El Tiempo reports that in Pasto the eruption initially ‘went unnoticed’ (the day was cloudy and the volcano was not visible from the town), and that ‘in the villages on the slopes of the volcano the people continued with their agricultural work’. In the town of La Florida more than 2000 people are subject to evacuation, but no-one has turned up at the shelters. ‘The people are taking it calmly’, commented secretary of the La Florida municipal government Jesús Enriquez.
For all our Galeras coverage: Galeras « The Volcanism Blog.
News
Erupción del Galeras no dejó muertos ni heridos – El País, 30 September 2009
Alerta roja en el volcán Galeras – El Tiempo, 29 September 2009
Alerta máxima en Nariño por erupción del Galeras – La Patria, 1 October 2009
Nueva erupción en el Volcán Galeras – El País, 1 October 2009
Red alert in southern Colombia after eruption Galeras volcano – Colombia Reports, 30 September 2009
Information
Global Volcanism Program – Galeras – summary information for Galeras (1501-08=)
Portal Corporativo de INGEOMINAS – Instituto Colombiano de Geología y Minería
Observatorio Vulcanológico y Sismológico de Pasto – Pasto volcanological observatory main page
Explosive eruption at Galeras 30 September 2009
Posted by admin in Colombia, Galeras, activity reports, eruptions.Tags: Colombia, Galeras, South America, volcanic activity reports, volcanic eruptions
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Galeras volcano in Colombia erupted explosively at 09:14 local time today, and is currently on the highest alert level of Red, ‘eruption imminent or under way’. There are no reports of deaths or injuries. INGEOMINAS Observatorio Vulcanológico y Sismológico de Pasto issued an extraordinary bulletin on the eruption at 12:20 local time today, which reports:
- The explosive event occurred at 09:14. National Parks personnel nearby ‘reported two explosions and the emission of incandescent material in the sector of the active cone’.
- The eruption generated a column of ash which reached approximately 8 km above the summit, and was initially deflected to the east and later towards the north. ‘Measurements of sulphur dioxide taken between 09:30 and 10:00 showed high values of between 1100 and 9300 tonnes/day’.
- Washington VAAC ‘estimated a height for the emission column of about 11 km. Satellite images showed that in the first minutes the column dispersed in a north-western direction and later the winds shifted it to the north’. Ashfall has been reported in Sandoná, Ancuya, Linares, La Llanada and Sotomayor.
- The energy levels of today’s eruption were similar to those of the 7 June 2009 eruption, and roughly one third of the energy of the 20 February 2009 eruption.
Following the eruption, seismicity has fallen to a low level. INGEOMINAS is continuing to watch the volcano closely.
For all our Galeras coverage: Galeras « The Volcanism Blog.
Information
Global Volcanism Program – Galeras – summary information for Galeras (1501-08=)
Portal Corporativo de INGEOMINAS – Instituto Colombiano de Geología y Minería
Observatorio Vulcanológico y Sismológico de Pasto – Pasto volcanological observatory main page
Volcanic risk mitigation workshop at Galeras: listening to the locals 11 July 2009
Posted by admin in Colombia, Galeras, natural hazards.Tags: Colombia, Galeras, natural hazards, South America, volcanic risk mitigation
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Galeras in south-western Colombia is a highly active volcano, and thousands of people are potentially at risk from the harmful effects of its activity. Since the beginning of this year alone, Galeras has erupted on 14 and 20 February, 13 March, 24 April (twice), 29 April, 7 June and 8 June.
The repeated increases in activity and frequent eruptions are accompanied by evacuation orders affecting thousands of local residents – some 10,000 people live in the designated ‘high-risk’ zone around the volcano, including thousands in the nearby city of Pasto. However, the evacuation orders are invariably ignored by the overwhelming majority of those affected. Local residents are used to the volcano and don’t believe it poses any danger to them, they are indifferent to the alerts and warnings of the authorities, and they are reluctant to leave their properties, crops and animals unattended.
The Colombian emergency authorities are increasingly concerned, not to say exasperated, by the reluctance of the people living around Galeras to take warnings about the volcano’s activity seriously. In a commendable attempt to educate local residents about volcanic risks and the importance of heeding warnings about volcanic activity, the State University of New York at Buffalo and the Universidad de Nariño (with support from the National Science Founation) are currently holding a workshop on ‘knowledge sharing and collaboration in volcanic risk mitigation’ in Pasto involving not just geologists, local government and emergency services but the local population: ‘Our hope is that through the presentations by scientists and crisis management experts about what has happened at other volcanoes, and by using some visual tools, like computational modeling of mud and debris flows, we can help people living around the volcano better understand the hazard they live with’, says Buffalo geology professor and volcanologist Michael Sheridan.
It will be interesting to see how successful this attempt at outreach is, and what the outcomes are. There are many cases of ‘alert fatigue’ making populations in areas of high volcanic risk reluctant to evacuate when warnings are given. Effective education about the nature of volcanic hazards and the threats they pose is one vital element in combating this potentially dangerous situation; another, as this workshop appears to recognize, is listening to local people, and understanding and engaging with the reasons why people do not take warnings seriously.
For all our Galeras coverage: Galeras « The Volcanism Blog.
SI/USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 10-16 June 2009 18 June 2009
Posted by admin in Alaska, Batu Tara, Chaitén, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dukono, Ebeko, Ecuador, Galeras, Hawaii, Indonesia, Japan, Kamchatka, Kilauea, Kliuchevskoi, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Popocatépetl, Rabaul, Redoubt, Rinjani, Russia, Sakura-jima, Sangay, Sarychev Peak, Shiveluch, Slamet, Suwanose-jima, Tungurahua, Turrialba, Ubinas, United States, Weekly Volcanic Activity Reports, activity reports, eruptions.Tags: Global Volcanism Program, volcanic activity reports, volcanic eruptions
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The Smithsonian Institution/United States Geological Survey Weekly Volcanic Activity Report covering 10-16 June 2009 is available on the Global Volcanism Program website. The following is a summary and not a substitute for the full report.
- The current report: Weekly Volcanic Activity Report.
- Previous reports: Weekly Reports Archive.
- The SI/USGS map of volcanoes discussed this week.
New activity: Rinjani (Indonesia), Sangay (Ecuador), Sarychev Peak (Russia).
Ongoing activity: Batu Tara (Indonesia), Chaitén (Chile), Dukono (Indonesia), Ebeko (Russia), Galeras (Colombia), Kilauea (USA), Kliuchevskoi (Russia), Popocatépetl (Mexico), Rabaul (Papua New Guinea), Redoubt (USA), Sakura-jima (Japan), Shiveluch (Russia), Suwanose-jima (Japan), Tungurahua (Ecuador), Turrialba (Costa Rica), Ubinas (Peru).
