Italy's Mount Etna erupts

Streams of red hot lava flow as Mount Etna, Europe's most active volcano, leaps into action, seen from Giarre, Italy, Tuesday. Italy’s National Institute for Geophysics and Volcanology said the eruption does not pose any threat to surrounding communities but authorities suspended flights from Catania international airport.

-reuters-

Magma movement to determine length of Taal's eruption, says Solidum

MANILA – The Taal Volcano is still erupting but its activity has gone weaker than in previous days, according to the country's chief seismologist on Wednesday.

But how long the eruptions would last depends on the speed of the rise of magma.

Phivolcs executive director Renato Solidum said Wednesday they still record a lot of earthquakes at the Taal volcano and its general area, and many of these temblors have been felt.

"These can be interpreted as magma intruding from beneath the volcano causing fissures to move, causing earthquakes and also lifting off the ground. Hence, if these magma would continue to rise there can still be further activity related to the current situation," Solidum said on ANC's Headstart.


Solidum cannot exactly tell how long Taal's eruptions will be as he said the volcano has exhibited various styles of eruptions in the past, lasting from a few days to several months.

In 1911, Solidum said the eruption lasted for only 3 to 4 days. In 1965, it lasted for a month and in 1754, the eruption continued on for around 7 months.

"These would be dependent on the ascent of the magma, how fast it would move up or whether the magma would stop moving. As we try to analyze this we rely on 2 things: the earthquakes and deformation on the ground," he explained.

He said volcanoes have different styles and speeds of eruption and precursors. Taal’s behavior, he said, could go from having precursors and not erupting to having precursors and then erupting within several days to several weeks.

“When any volcano would erupt, it has to show signs of the activities escalating. However, that volcano did not accelerate its activity and in fact even half a day or a day before there were no significant earthquake events or even maybe 12 or 6 hours before, if you look at seismic record, there was no record,” he said.

The volcano’s activity accelerated in a span of around 6 hours, prompting Phivolcs to immediately raise its alert level.

In comparison, Mount Pinatubo, which erupted in 1991, recorded activity that signaled its destructive eruption on June 15 of that year.

There were quakes that March, phreatic eruptions a month later, steam emissions in May, and then a small ash emission prior to its major eruption.

“You can see clearly the big difference in the timing and sequence of the events versus what happened last Sunday,” he said.

Solidum said Phivolcs, the local government, and disaster management teams have been preparing for the possibility of Taal's hazardous eruption.

"The explosive eruption scenario, and this is the scenario we have been preparing for together with the Batangas Provincial Risk Reduction [and] Management Office, is still possible simply because of the fact that we still have a lot of earthquakes and ground deformation within the area," he said.

Sunday's activity initially started as a phreatic eruption. When the crater was depressurized, he said magma suddenly rose and produced more eruptions turning it into a phreatomagmatic eruption.

"The highest eruption column that we saw was around 10 to 15 kilometers last Sunday, late afternoon and evening, and for many volcanoes that would really be considered hazardous," he said.

Lava fountaining was observed by early Monday morning, resulting in a magmatic eruption.

While it was hazardous, Phivolcs said they have not yet seen pyroclastic density currents or the flow of rocks and ash down the slope of the volcano or even horizontally-moving out of the crater towards the lake.

"That is what we call a hazardous volcanic eruption when Taal would exhibit not only tall eruption columns, but horizontally-moving clouds more than 60 kilometers per hour that even reach the mainland and cross above the water," he said.

Thousands of residents were evacuated after the volcano spewed ash and destroyed homes, plants, and animals on Sunday.

"If the volcano would rapidly increase in activity then there will be additional evacuation and that has happened. Unfortunately the volcano changed its condition very rapidly," he said.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

30 out of 3,000 Taal horses rescued from volcano island

MANILA – Only 30 out of the estimated 3,000 horses on Taal Volcano island have so far been rescued, an animal welfare group said Tuesday night. 

In a Facebook post, the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) said the owners of the horses took action upon learning that "the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) will no longer evacuate the horses and that animal rescuers were not being allowed to go to the island."


"Wala namang maasahan so kami na lang (We were not expecting any rescue, so we did it ourselves)," one of them was quoted as saying by the animal welfare group. 

According to PAWS, the owners of the stranded horses "took turns using three to four wooden boats and rowed over 50 kms" to transport them to Balete, Batangas.

"PAWS found the group after doing its feeding rounds for the affected dogs, cats and cattle in Talisay," added the group, which called for donations and financial assistance for the animals.


Meanwhile, three members of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) rescue team have been stranded on the volcano island since Wednesday morning. 

"I think they were trying to rescue the animals pero naiwan po sila, kung sino man po iyong nagdala sa kanila doon (but they were left behind by the people who brought them there)," Anna Cabrera, executive director of PAWS, said in a radio interview. 

Cabrera also urged the Philippine Coast Guard to save the three-man rescue team.

Veterinarians have been reminding the public to bring animals in areas affected by ashfall indoors as these can bring health risks such as eye damage and respiratory problems. 

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Car covered in Taal volcano ash? Experts share tips

MANILA – Personal safety should be the number one priority as Taal Volcano remains on the brink of a “hazardous eruption,” but it wouldn’t hurt to know how to properly care for a vehicle affected by ashfall.

On Monday, experts reminded car owners not to wipe their ash-covered vehicles as particles can damage the paint.

Toyota Motor Philippines instead suggested to wash cars with pressurized water to remove ash while preventing scratches.

It added that the air filters of vehicles driven in areas affected by the ashfall should be thoroughly cleaned.


Automotive shop Aegis Detailing Philippines, for its part, said a thick layer of wax will help protect a car that is not glass-coated.

Those who are unsure of what to do, meanwhile, are advised to bring their ash-coated vehicles to a professional to avoid further damage.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Volcano erupts on southwestern Japan island, no injuries reported

TOKYO - A volcano on a southwestern Japan island erupted Saturday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, with no immediate reports of injuries.

Rocks were thrown about 300 meters from the crater of Mt. Shintake on Kuchinoerabu Island in Kagoshima Prefecture following the eruption around 3:05 p.m., the agency said, adding it had not confirmed any pyroclastic flow.

No evacuation order was issued. As of the end of last month, 100 people were registered as residents on the 36-square-kilometer island.

It was the first eruption on the island since Feb. 2 last year.

The agency maintained the alert level for the volcano at 3 on a scale of 5, which asks climbers to refrain from scaling the mountain, after raising the level from 2 in October following a major earthquake.

The agency warned of possible flying rocks and pyroclastic flows within about a 2-kilometer radius of the crater.

In May 2015, all residents of the island were evacuated to Yakushima Island, some 12 km to the east, after explosive eruptions from the volcano. Kuchinoerabu Island is located some 130 km south-southwest of the city of Kagoshima.

==Kyodo

Refrain from using aircon during heavy ashfall, says Concepcion Industries

Concepcion Industrial Corporation has advised consumers that they can use airconditioners (ACs) during light ash fall but not during heavy ash fall as it will destroy the appliance.

In a statement, the appliance manufacturer said split-type or window air conditioners can be used during light ash fall. It said the air the unit uses comes from inside the house, not from the outdoors, so it will not affect the appliance.

“However, during heavy ash fall, please refrain from using your AC units. Continued use during heavy ash fall will clog your AC unit's outdoor condenser coil, which will result to the overheating of the compressor,” the company said.

Consumers must also clean their units after the ash fall subsides.

Concepcion Industrial Corporation is the Philippine company behind aircon brands such as Kelvinator, Condura and Carrier.

According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), eruptive activity at Taal Volcano intensified as of 5:30 p.m. on Sunday.

It said hazardous explosive eruption was possible within hours to days

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New Zealand recovers 6 bodies from volcanic island in high-risk mission

WHAKATANE/WELLINGTON - A New Zealand military team recovered 6 bodies on Friday from the volcanic island that fatally erupted earlier this week, in a high risk operation watched by dozens of grieving family members waiting on the mainland.

A bomb disposal squad worked as quickly as possible after using helicopters to land on White Island, which experts have said still has a 50-60 percent chance of another eruption in the coming hours.

Six of the eight bodies on the island were successfully retrieved and taken to a naval patrol vessel for transfer to the mainland for disaster victim identification, New Zealand police said.

The eight-person team was unable to recover the remaining two bodies as the cumbersome protective equipment they needed to wear slowed down the tricky operation.

"It has been an incredibly difficult operation but it has been such a priority," New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told Australian Broadcasting Radio Corp on Friday morning. "We just want to bring loved ones home."

New Zealand Police Commissioner Mike Bush said dive teams have been deployed in the waters around the island, which is also known by its Maori name of Whakaari, and another aerial search would be conducted later on Friday.

"It's not over yet," Bush told reporters in Whakatane, the mainland coastal town where about 100 family and local community members prayed and sang together as they watched helicopters fly to and from the island.

The volcano, a popular tourist destination for day-trippers, erupted on Monday, spewing ash, steam and gases over the island. Among the 47 people on the island at the time were Australian, US, German, Chinese, British and Malaysian tourists.

The official death toll stands at eight as the bodies on the island have been classified as missing until they are formally identified. More than two dozen more people are in hospitals across New Zealand and Australia, most with severe burn injuries.

A blessing was held at sea with the victims' families before the mission was launched.

Locals Boz Te Moana, 24 and Michael Mika, 28, came to support families gathered at the marae, a Maori community center in Whakatane on New Zealand's North Island, which lies some 50 km (30 miles) west of the island.

"Where we come from we don’t leave anyone behind, no one gets left behind," Te Moana said of his Maori community. "We all move as one."

SKIN SUPPLIES

Police had been confident of the location of six of the bodies, as they had been viewed from the air but had cautioned there would be limited opportunity to search for the other two.

"The New Zealand authorities have indicated they will return as soon as it is possible to do so," Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne told reporters in Sydney.

Payne said she had been advised the six bodies removed from the island were likely to those of Australian tourists, adding that 11 injured Australians have now been transferred from overloaded burns units in New Zealand, with one more to be repatriated in the "coming days".

Australians made up the majority of the tourists visiting the island at the time of the explosion. Many of them were passengers on a Royal Caribbean Cruises ship on a day tour to the island.

Peter Haertsch, the doctor in charge of the burns unit caring for the returned Australians, said they been exposed to fast-moving clouds of very hot volcanic gas and pumice and ash.

"They have suffered severe contact skin burns with severe injuries due to inhalation of gas and ash, and we are looking at extensive and intensive care for these patients, some of whom are still in a life-threatening condition," Haertsch said in an emailed statement.

Payne said Australia was working with the United States and other countries to source some of the urgently needed 1.2 million square cms (186,000 square inches) of skin, an amount that far exceeds annual donations in New Zealand and Australia.

"It's jarring for us to hear just the sheer scale of that need because it amplifies just how horrific some of the injuries are," Ardern told ABC Radio.

QUESTIONS OVER RISK

Authorities had faced growing pressure in recent days from families of some victims to recover the bodies as soon as possible.

There has also been criticism that tourists were allowed on the island at all, given the risks of an active volcano. Ardern has announced an inquiry into the tragedy, which will address such broader questions.

"It's a very unpredictable volcano," she told ABC radio on Friday. "Having said that, that's not sufficient in terms of explanation as to whether or not the right checks and balances were in place."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Alert level raised for Hawaii volcano due to rumbles, quakes

The Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii has been hit by at least 50 small earthquakes since October of last year, scientists said on Tuesday, prompting U.S. geologists to raise its alert level to yellow.

An eruption of Mauna Loa, the world's largest active volcano, did not appear to be imminent. The increased seismic activity indicated a shift in the "shallow magma storage system" under the mountain, the Hawaii Volcano Observatory (HVO) said in an advisory.

"As has happened before, it is possible that current low-level unrest will continue and vary in intensity for many months, or even years without an eruption," the observatory said. "It is also possible that the current unrest is an early precursor to an eventual eruption. At this time, we cannot determine which of these possibilities is more likely."

Yellow is the second level on the Hawaii Volcano Observatory's color-coded alert chart, above green, which is used to indicate "background, non-eruptive state." Orange signifies a volcano exhibiting "heightened or escalating unrest with increased potential of eruption." The highest alert level, red, indicates that an eruption is imminent.

"HVO expects that days or weeks prior to an eruption, monitoring instruments will detect signs of an increased potential for eruption," the observatory said. "However, it is also possible that the time frame to eruption could be shorter - hours to days. All communities on the flanks of the volcano should be prepared."

The last episode of volcanic activity in Hawaii was a destructive eruption of lava last summer from a series of fissures that opened at the foot of Kilauea Volcano, also on the Big Island.

Kilauea spewed rivers of molten rock that swallowed hundreds of homes before creeping several miles (km) to the ocean, ultimately engulfing two seaside housing developments there.

The property losses from the May-to-August event marked the most destructive eruption event of Kilauea or any other volcano in Hawaii's recorded history.

Mauna Loa, which takes up more than half of the Big Island, and rises 13,679 feet (4,169 meters) above the Pacific Ocean, last erupted in March and April of 1984, sending a flow of lava within 5 miles (8.05 km) of the city of Hilo. The volcano has produced voluminous flows of lava that have reached the ocean at least eight times since 1868, and twice its eruptions have destroyed villages, in 1926 and 1950.

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Lava flow stalls, sparing Hawaii geothermal plant from more damage

HONOLULU - A lava flow from Hawaii's erupting Kilauea volcano that damaged a geothermal power station has stalled, as have lava fountains gushing 100 feet (30 meters) into the air, offering momentary relief to an area under siege for 25 days, officials said on Monday.

Even so, new blasts from the crater sent ash plumes billowing as high as 13,000 feet (4,000 meters) into the sky, and a new fissure was pumping out lava at a rate of three feet (1 meter) per second, geologists said.

The new fissure sent more lava into the to evacuated Leilani Estates district in the eastern corner of Hawaii's Big Island.

Because the lava was spread out over a wide area, the frontier of the flow was only moving at about three feet per second, Carolyn Parcheta, a geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, said in a video message posted online.

Lava engulfed the heads of two wells that tap into steam and gas deep in the Earth's core at the 38-megawatt Puna Geothermal Venture on Saturday. Its operator, Israeli-controlled Ormat Technologies Inc, said it had not been able to assess the damage.

Residents fear the wells may be explosive. Officials have said the power plant is safe but lava has never engulfed a geothermal plant anywhere in the world, leaving a measure of uncertainty.

The lava flow at PGV stalled on Monday, Hawaii County spokeswoman Janet Snyder said.

Ormat said the plant represented about 4.5 percent of its total generating capacity and that major damage or a shutdown could have an "adverse impact" on the company's business.

Authorities have shut down the plant, removed 60,000 gallons (230,000 liters) of flammable liquid, and deactivated the wells.

At least 82 homes have been destroyed in the southeast corner of Big Island and about 2,000 people have been ordered evacuated since Kilauea began erupting on May 3.

About 2,200 acres (890 hectares) have been scorched and the eruptions are expected to cut tourism revenues.

The sole reported serious injury from the eruption so far came when a man was hit by flying lava.

An eruption from the summit's Halemaumau crater on Monday sent ash almost 15,000 feet (4,600 m) into the air, a National Weather Service meteorologist said. Hawaii County officials later cut the estimated height to 13,000 feet.

Magma has drained from Kilauea's summit lava lake and flowed around 25 miles (40 km) east underground, bursting out of about two dozen giant cracks or fissures. 

(Reporting by Joyln Rosa in Honolulu; Additional reporting by Ian Simpson; Editing by Daniel Trotta and Tom Brown)

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Hawaii street swallowed by 'lava tide' as more homes burn

PAHOA, Hawaii - A rising tide of lava turned a Hawaii street into a smoking volcanic wasteland on Friday, destroying at least eight homes as residents stood on the road and watched their houses burn.

The destructive fury of the erupting Kilauea volcano has been unleashed on the Big Island's Leilani Estates housing development, with the number of homes and other structures destroyed jumping to 82 from a previous count of 50 only a few days ago, according to David Mace, a spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Some 15,000 acres (6,070 hectares) of land - about half the size of Florida's Disney World resort - have been torched by lava since May 3, in what is likely to be the most destructive eruption of Kilauea in over a century, according to the County of Hawaii.

"There were eight houses taken on this road in 12 hours," said Ikaika Marzo in a Facebook video as he stood on Kaupuli Street and showed a black, glass-like lava field where his cousin's house previously stood.

Where there were once houses and tropical back gardens in Leilani Estates, magma spews from 100-foot-high (30-meter-high) cinder cones and forms elevated ponds of molten rock that cascade over their banks to engulf the next street.

"It's this tide of lava that rises up and overflows itself on the edges and keeps rising and progressing forward," said U.S. Geological Survey geologist Wendy Stovall told journalists on a conference call.

Around 37 structures are "lava locked," meaning homes are inaccessible, and people who do not evacuate them may be hemmed in by 30-foot-high (9-meter-high) walls of lava.

Magma is draining underground from a sinking lava lake at Kilauea's 4,091-foot (1,247-meter) summit before flowing around 25 miles (40 km) east and bursting from giant cracks, with two flows reaching the ocean just over three miles (4.83 km) distant.

Stovall declined to comment on lava volume being emitted. Marzo said he was told by a USGS geologist there was much more to come from Kilauea.

"What has been coming out is just a small fraction of what was in the volcano," he said he was told.

Though lava destruction from the volcano is confined to a roughly 10-square-mile (26-sq-km) area, the eruption is hurting the island's tourist-driven economy as potential visitors fear ashfall or volcanic smog belching from Kilauea's summit.

A 4.4 magnitude earthquake at the volcano's summit on Friday prompted County of Hawaii Civil Defense to reassure the island's 200,000 residents that there was no risk of a tsunami.

Year-to date 2018 visitor numbers to the Connecticut-sized island are "trending a little bit lower" than 2017, with the cancellation of some port visits by cruise ships expected to have a $3 million impact, said Ross Birch, head of the island's tourism board on a conference call. 

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Huge fissure opens on Hawaiian volcano; some defy evacuation order

PAHOA, Hawaii - A massive new fissure opened on Hawaii's Kilauea volcano, hurling bursts of rock and magma with an ear-piercing screech on Sunday as it threatened nearby homes and prompted authorities to order new evacuations.

The fissure, a vivid gouge of magma with smoke pouring out both ends, was the 17th to open on the volcano since it began erupting on May 3. Some 37 buildings have been destroyed and nearly 2,000 people ordered to evacuate in the past 10 days.

Seen from a helicopter, the crack appeared to be about 1,000 feet (300 meters) long and among the largest of those fracturing the side of Kilauea, a 4,000-foot-high (1,200-meters) volcano with a lake of lava at its summit.

"It is a near-constant roar akin to a full-throttle 747 interspersed with deafening, earth-shattering explosions that hurtle 100-pound (45-kg) lava bombs 100 feet (30 meters) into the air," said Mark Clawson, 64, who lives uphill from the latest fissure and so far is defying an evacuation order.

Closer to the summit, in the evacuated Leilani Estates neighborhood of about 1,500 people, explosions could be heard in the distance as steam rose from cracks in the roads. The bulging rim of one fissure wrecked a building, leaving behind torn metal.

In areas where sulfur dioxide emissions were strong, the vegetation turned brown and leafless trees withered.

The U.S. Geological Survey warned that fissures could erupt throughout the area, and Civil Defense officials on Sunday ordered people living on Halekamahina Road to evacuate and be on the alert for gas emissions and lava spatter.

Meanwhile, other fissures continued to billow smoke over homes on the eastern point of the Big Island of Hawaii, the largest of the Hawaiian islands.

Even so, some people such as Clawson remained in their homes, confident they would be spared.

"We are keeping track of lava bombs. One went through the lanai (porch) roof of a neighbor's house," Clawson said. About eight to 10 neighbors had yet to evacuate, he said.

The Hawaii National Guard is warning people in the coastal Lower Puna area to prepare to leave, saying anyone who chooses to stay behind cannot count on being rescued. An evacuation has not been ordered there but might be if a local highway is cut off.

"We've been telling them, 'Evacuate if you can, because if we have to come in and get you we'll be putting first responders at risk'," Major Jeff Hickman told reporters. "There's a point where we'll tell our first responders, 'Nope, you can't go'."

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Hawaii braces for worse lava flows from erupting volcano

PAHOA, Hawaii - More destructive lava flows could soon hit Hawaii’s Big Island as the Kilauea volcano erupts, posing a greater threat than oozing magma that has so far destroyed dozens of homes and forced thousands to evacuate, scientists said on Friday.

As a lava lake at Kilauea's summit drains inside the volcano, magma is running underground. It could burst to the surface as large, fast-moving and intensely hot lava flows and produce higher levels of toxic gases, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientist-in-charge Tina Neal said.

"What will take a turn for the worse in terms of hazard is if hotter, fresher magma makes it to the surface, and that could be what is coming," Neal told a conference call. "Once a new batch of hotter, gassier magma makes it to the surface we might see larger, higher eruption rates."

Fifteen large cracks or fissures have opened on the eastern flank of Kilauea since the volcano erupted eight days ago. The volcanic vents have oozed relatively cool, sluggish magma left over from a similar event in 1955. Fresher magma could now emerge behind it.

In addition, Kilauea, one of the world's most active volcanoes, threatens to begin a series of explosive eruptions within days or weeks that could form huge clouds of volcanic smog, or vog, and hurl boulders as big as small cars.

Geologists expect new lava outbreaks in or around the hard-hit Leilani Estates area in the southeastern Puna district, about 20 miles (32 km) south of Hilo, where 27 homes have been destroyed and all 1,900 residents have been evacuated.

Local residents got a text message alert at 11 a.m. warning them they could have little or no time to evacuate in the event of future eruptions.

"I GOTTA GET OUT OF HERE"

Ron Peters, 59, knew it was time to leave his home in the Opihikao community, 2.6 miles from Leilani Estates, when fruit trees and other vegetation began to die in the rotten-egg-smelling clouds of sulfur-dioxide gas.

"When you start seeing ferns go brown overnight, it's like, 'Wow, I gotta get out of here,'" said Peters, sitting at a Red Cross evacuation center at a sports center in nearby Pahoa.

His wife refused to leave and stayed to care for their dogs and chickens.

He went back for her on Thursday, fearing she and the animals would be dead. One of the dogs was having trouble moving but his wife was still alive. He set his chickens free.

"The gas fumes were just too much," he said, sitting at a baseball diamond with his dogs tied beside him.

While locals contend with lava and gas on the ground, explosions at Kilauea's summit some 25 miles (40 km) to the west were dusting communities with ash that irritated eyes and breathing.

Volcanic smog may be blowing hundreds of miles from Kilauea, with people on the streets of state capital Honolulu, around 210 miles (340 km) northwest on the island of Oahu, complaining it was "very voggy" on Friday.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Hawaii volcano lava destroys dozens of homes, more threatened

More than two dozen homes have been destroyed and dozens more are threatened by red-hot lava seeping from the Kilauea volcano, the most active in Hawaii, civil defense officials said.

Evacuation orders remained in place Monday for hundreds of residents of the Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens areas in the eastern part of Hawaii's Big Island.

Hawaii's Civil Defense Agency, in its latest update, said 26 homes have been destroyed by lava oozing up from fissures in the ground.

Aerial footage showed orange streams of lava snaking through the Leilani Estates neighborhood, covering streets and igniting small fires. 

Residents of Leilani Estates were allowed to return to their homes on Sunday between 7:00 am and 6:00 pm to check on their properties and remove belongings.

But residents were warned to be ready to flee at a moment's notice.

"Because of unstable conditions that involve toxic gas, earthquakes and lava activities, lines of safety can change at any time," the Civil Defense Agency said.

"The high levels of sulfur dioxide are a threat to all who become exposed," it said.

'Spirit of ALOHA is alive'

Among those who lost their homes was Amber Makuakane.

A GoFundMe page was set up to raise money for the 37-year-old elementary school teacher and single mother of two young children.

As of Monday morning, more than $29,000 had been raised for Makuakane, whose parents also live in the Leilani Estates area and have also been forced to flee their home.

Makuakane thanked the donors on the page saying "my heart is full of gratitude for each and everyone of you."

"It is true that the spirit of ALOHA is alive and well," she said.

Aloha is a traditional Hawaiian greeting that also conveys love. 

Ten fissures in the ground have opened up so far, according to the Civil Defense Agency, spewing out lava and hazardous fumes.

Lava fountains have been observed spouting as high as 230 feet (70 meters) into the air.

Kilauea, which rises to 4,091 feet (1,247 meters), began erupting Thursday afternoon. 

A magnitude 5 earthquake under Kilauea's south flank preceded an initial eruption and there have been several severe aftershocks since then.

A quake Friday was measured at magnitude 6.9, the most powerful to hit the islands since 1975.

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said satellites had detected a gradual sinking of ground around the volcano summit in the two weeks before the first quake.

Kilauea -- which according to Hawaiian folklore is home to Pele, the volcano goddess -- saw nearly continuous activity during the 19th century.

It is one of five currently active volcanoes on the archipelago's Big Island.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

New fissures open up near Hawaiian volcano as danger persists

LEILANI ESTATES, US - The Kilauea volcano, the most active in Hawaii, was highly unstable Sunday as lava spouted into the air and fissures emitted deadly gases -- hazards that have forced thousands of people to evacuate.

Eight fissures have opened so far, the most recent one late Saturday, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported at 9:40 GMT on Sunday.

All are in or near Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens areas, where over 1,500 residents were ordered to evacuate.

The observatory, part of the US Geological Survey (USGS), said new crevices were spotted on Sunday morning but "no heat or escaping steam" was detected.

While lava continued to erupt intermittently in the Leilani Estates area -- with red-hot lava fountains sometimes spouting 230 feet (70 meters) into the air -- other eruptions have ceased.

But highly toxic sulfur dioxide gas pouring from some fissures continued to contribute to "extremely dangerous" conditions.

"The high levels of sulfur dioxide are a threat to all who become exposed," the Hawaii County Civil Defense office said in an alert.

That office reported Saturday that five houses have been destroyed. It said in a Facebook posting that "eruptive activity is increasing and is expected to continue."

The office cautioned Hawaiians to be patient. "Please understand the unpredictability of these hazards," it said.

Officials at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, scene of a mandatory evacuation order Friday, were assessing roads and trails on Sunday as they weighed whether to reopen.

Civil defense administrator Talmadge Magno told the Honolulu Star Advertiser that some residents of the evacuated subdivisions might be allowed to return briefly to their homes to tend to animals and collect important papers. But, he cautioned, "We are pretty sure we are not done."

The area has suffered several severe shocks since Thursday, when a magnitude 5 earthquake under Kilauea's south flank set off an initial eruption. A quake Friday was measured at magnitude 6.9, the most powerful to hit the islands since 1975.

In a 48-hour period, experts detected 152 quakes of magnitude 2 to 3 and 22 of magnitude 3 within three miles (five kilometers) of the volcano's crater.

The observatory said satellites had detected a gradual sinking of ground around the volcano summit in the two weeks before the first quake.

It said the surface of a lava lake in the Overlook crater had dropped 518 feet (128 meters) below the crater rim since April 30.

Kilauea, which rises to 4,091 feet (1,247 meters), began erupting Thursday afternoon local time.

Kilauea -- which according to Hawaiian folklore is home to Pele, the volcano goddess -- saw nearly continuous activity during the 19th century. It is one of five currently active volcanoes on Hawaii Island, sometimes known as the archipelago's Big Island.

"Kilauea ranks among the world's most active volcanoes," according to the USGS, "and may even top the list."

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Major quake hits Hawaii, prompts further volcano eruptions

A magnitude 6.9 earthquake shook Hawaii's Big Island on Friday, prompting fresh eruptions of a volcano that has been spewing lava near residential areas, forcing hundreds of people to flee.

The US Geological Survey said the quake struck at 12:32 pm (2232 GMT) and was centered on the south flank of the Kilauea volcano, which first erupted on Thursday after a series of tremors.

"This is in almost exactly the same location as the deadly 1975 M 7.1 quake," USGC said in a tweet.

That quake killed two people and injured 28.

Another 5.7-magnitude tremor had hit the island earlier on Friday and authorities said they expect more seismic activity.

The quakes have prompted the Kilauea volcano, one of five active on the island, to erupt.

Drone and video footage showed orange magma gushing up from cracks in the ground and snaking through a wooded area. 

Molten lava could also be seen bubbling up through cracks on streets in the Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens neighborhood where residents were ordered to evacuate on Thursday.

The area is home to about 1,700 people and 770 structures. The broader district potentially impacted by the threat is home to some 10,000 people.

No injuries have been reported but several homes were said to have been destroyed or badly damaged on Friday, authorities said.


- Dangerous gas warning -


Officials urged any remaining residents to evacuate and warned of extremely high levels of toxic fumes.

"Hawaii Fire Department reports extremely dangerous air quality conditions due to high levels of sulfur dioxide gas in the evacuation area," the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency said.

"Elderly, young and people with respiratory issues need to comply with the mandatory evacuation order and leave the area," said a statement from the mayor's office.

Governor David Ige said residents were being housed in community centers until the danger from Kilauea, one of the world's most active volcanoes, has passed.

The lava outbreak came after hundreds of small earthquakes in recent days that followed the collapse of a crater floor on the Puu Oo volcanic cone.

A 5.0-magnitude earthquake early Thursday south of the cone triggered rockfalls and potential additional collapse of the crater, USGS said.

It sent a short-lived but massive pink plume of ash wafting into the air.

Big Island resident Janice Wei, who moved to Hawaii from California -- known for its own high earthquake risk -- said the eruption was almost a "relief."

"We've been waiting for big movement from the crater, after so many small earthquakes," she told AFP.

"Hawaiians and local people have lived here forever," she said. "You know what's going on; we have warning systems.

"Everybody should be prepared." 


- 'Fire curtain' -


Using his drone, area resident Jeremiah Osuna captured video footage of the lava flow, which he described as a "fire curtain" that left him feeling "shock and awe."

"It was like if you put a bunch of rocks into a dryer and turned it on -- a lot of earth and pressure and fire just moving around," Osuna told AFP.

Governor Ige activated the state's National Guard troops, and told residents to pay heed to official warnings.

He also signed an emergency proclamation releasing disaster funds to the Big Island.

In his emergency declaration, the governor noted the current flow was similar to a 1960 eruption in the Kapoho area that "caused significant damage."

Geologist Janet Babb of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory told AFP that scientists had been following an "intrusion of magma" down the rift zone since Monday afternoon in anticipation of a possible eruption.

Though the cracks from which lava was emitting had gone dormant, she emphasized that "the overall concern and the overall event has not ended."

US Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii said the Federal Emergency Management Agency was mobilizing resources, as well as monitoring for forest fires, power outages and water supply issues.

Hawaii Island, or the Big Island, is the largest of the eight main islands that comprise the Pacific US state, an archipelago that includes hundreds of smaller volcanic islands.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Stronger quake, magnitude 6.0, hits Hawaii close to erupting volcano - USGS

A series of earthquakes of escalating magnitudes hit Hawaii's Big Island starting Friday, as the Kilauea volcano continued to spew lava into residential areas.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the latest tremor at 12:32 p.m. measured 6.0, a strong magnitude capable of causing severe damage. 

Its epicenter was located 11 miles (17.7 km) southwest of Leilani Estates, one of the communities where lava has been flowing into residential areas. 

Earlier, quakes of lower magnitudes were recorded in the area. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Volcano erupts in Japan, sparks avalanche at ski resort

TOKYO - A volcano eruption near a popular Japanese ski resort sparked an avalanche that injured at least 16 people Tuesday, officials said.

Japan's Meteorological Agency urged nearby residents to stay away from Mt. Kusatsu Shirane after it detected what it said was "slight volcanic activity".

"Today an eruption occurred" at the mountain, agency official Makoto Saito told a news conference.

He warned that the volcano could still spew more rocks and ash, and said there was a risk of further avalanches.

A local fire department official told AFP that 10 people had been injured in the incident.

"Five of them were seriously injured. We began sending the injured to a hospital," he said.

Among the injured were four people hurt by shattered glass while on a ropeway gondola at a ski resort in Gunma, northwest of Tokyo.

The official said an earlier report that one person was missing was not accurate.

The defense ministry said 6 infantry personnel who had been training on the mountain were also hit by the avalanche but had been rescued.

"They are injured but their injuries are not life-threatening," a ministry spokesman said.

Footage broadcast on Japanese television showed thick black smoke interspersed with falling rocks sliding down the snow-covered side of the volcano towards a ski slope.

The falling rocks kicked clouds of snow into the air and they made impact.

"Black smoke rose from the top of the mountain and we were told to evacuate inside 30 minutes later," a man who was at the ski resort told public broadcaster NHK.

"About 100 people have evacuated," he said.

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Bali volcano on highest alert level, thousands flee

Indonesian officials raised the highest possible alert for a volcano on the resort island of Bali late Friday, after tremors prompted thousands to flee over fears it could erupt for the first time in more than 50 years.

Mount Agung, about 75 kilometers (47 miles) from the tourist hub of Kuta, has been rumbling since August and officials have recommended that people stay at least nine kilometres away from the crater.


Hundreds of small tremors have rattled the mountain this week, causing almost 10,000 people to leave their homes as of Friday over fears of a volcanic eruption.

"Tremors happen very often, so we are afraid and I have taken all my family members to the refugee shelter," villager I Wayan Suwarjana told AFP.

National disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho advised people to stay calm and not to believe rumours.

The airport on Bali's capital Denpasar, a top holiday destination that attracts millions of foreign tourists every year, has not been affected but airport management are watching the situation closely.

The Australian government put out a travel advisory Friday instructing travellers to exercise a high degree of caution in Indonesia and follow the instructions of authorities.

More than 1,000 people died when Mount Agung last erupted in 1963.

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Japan volcano death toll hits 43 as new bodies found

TOKYO - Seven more bodies have been found by rescuers combing the peak of a Japanese volcano that erupted at the weekend, officials said Wednesday, taking the death toll to at least 43.

The seven are in addition to the 36 already known to have died when Mount Ontake burst angrily to life during the busy hiking season, but may not be the last, with reports of more bodies lying near the peak.

"Rescuers found seven more people in cardiac arrest near the mountain top, and are now carrying them down," an official in Otaki village, where one mountain trail begins, told AFP.

Only doctors can declare someone officially dead, so first responders typically report that someone's heart has stopped and they are not breathing.

The find comes after media reports suggested as many as 20 people remain unaccounted for, with an area of the volcano still out of bounds to rescuers as it continues to billow toxic gas and steam.

Some of the around 1,000 troops, police and firefighters combing the volcano succeeded in bringing down 14 of the bodies that were discovered on Sunday, with 10 more still there.

An official at Nagano prefecture's crisis management office said helicopters had been used to ferry the dead from the mountain, whose pock-marked lunarscape bears witness to the huge volume of ask and rocks that were flung from the volcano.

- 'People still missing' -
"We believe there are more people still missing, but we don't know how many they are," he added.

Broadcaster NHK said rescuers had seen more bodies that they had not yet been able to go to.

Hiking is an incredibly popular pastime in Japan, with mountain trails promoted by tourism officials who ask walkers to sign in when they begin their trek and sign out again when they finish.

But a local tourism association told the Asahi Shimbun "usually only 10 to 20 percent of hikers register their names with authorities before entering the mountains in high season".

The report said 327 hikers had registered to be on Mount Ontake at the time of the eruption.

Rescuers are hoping that many of those that cannot be contacted simply forgot to let mountain managers know they were safe.

Nagano Prefecture has posted a notice on its website calling for information on hikers on the list.

However, there exists the grisly possibility that many more perished.

"We don't know if there are people buried deep down under accumulated ash," a senior police official told the Asahi.

The local fire department said 71 people are missing, it said, while the Nagano prefectural police has received hundreds of reports of people whose whereabouts are unknown, a police spokesman told AFP.

Authorities cautioned that some of these reports would likely have nothing to do with the disaster, which happened without warning during a busy weekend.

Hundreds of people were on the slopes of the volcano as rocks, ash and smoke poured from the fractured crater. Many made it down safely, but dozens were trapped on the peak.

Autopsies carried out on the first 12 people whose bodies were retrieved showed they all died from injuries caused by rocks hurled high into the air by the eruption.

Aerial footage showed a sticky blanket of ash smothering the upper slopes where craters that appeared to be up to a metre (three feet) across revealed where some of the projectiles had landed.

The roof of one of the huts near the caldera, where hikers are believed to have sought shelter, had been punctured by rocks as they plunged back to earth.

Volcanic tremors have been detected constantly since Saturday's eruption, with underground water boiling into steam and breaking or moving rocks, a vulcanologist at the meteorological agency said.

The agency warned Wednesday the eruption was still under way, and noted that smoke had been seen issuing from the volcano as of 9:00 am (0000 GMT).

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Schoolchildren among 14 killed by Indonesia volcano eruption

KARO - Fourteen people, including four schoolchildren, were killed Saturday after they were engulfed in scorching ash clouds spat out by Indonesia's Mount Sinabung in its biggest eruption in recent days, officials said.

Dark, searing clouds rolling down the mountain left apocalyptic scenes of ash-covered bodies scattered by a roadside in Sukameriah village, just 2.7 kilometres (1.7 miles) from the volcano's crater, an AFP witness who helped with the evacuation said.

Officials fear there could be more fatalities from Saturday's eruptions, but due to the high potential of lethal heat clouds spewing from the mountain, a search and rescue mission has been grounded, officials said.

"We suspect there are more victims but we cannot recover them because the victims are in the path of the hot (ash) clouds," said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the spokesman for the National Disaster Management Agency.

All 14 bodies have been identified. Four of them were high school students on a sightseeing trip to the volcano on the western island of Sumatra, he added.

"The bodies were in a state where, even though their skin did not peel, their faces were swollen and the tongues were sticking out," an AFP reporter on the ground said.

Three other people -- a father and his son who wanted to pay respects at the graves of their relatives, and a man who came to the village to check his long-abandoned house -- were also trapped and injured by the deadly clouds, Karo district official Johnson Tarigan told AFP.

He said the three were in the intensive care unit of a local hospital.

Thirty thousand people have been evacuated from the area since the volcano started erupting in September.

But some residents had returned home on Friday following advice from the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation that houses outside the five-kilometre radius from the mountain were safe.

The volcano erupted again on Saturday morning, sending hot rocks and ash up 2,000 metres (16,00 feet) into the air, blanketing the surrounding countryside with grey dust, said volcanologist Kristianto, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.

Sukameriah village is located in the red zone, where human activities are strictly banned, but locals often trespassed the restricted area to check on their houses and belongings as well as their crops, officials said.

Nugroho said the evacuation will resume on Sunday.

Mount Sinabung is one of 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia that straddle major tectonic fault lines, known as the Pacific Ring of Fire.

It had been quiet for around 400 years until it rumbled back to life in 2010, and again in September last year.

In August 2013, five people were killed and hundreds evacuated when a volcano on a small island in East Nusa Tenggara province erupted.

The country's most active volcano, Mount Merapi in central Java, killed more than 350 people in a series of eruptions in 2010.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com