Volcano Eruption Toy

[Karleen Chura]

Activity Summary: Kīlauea is not erupting. The Upper East Rift Zone unrest which began on July 22 has ended. The fourth pulse of increased seismicity was over by midday yesterday, and overall seismicity rapidly decreased afterwards and has now returned to ordinary levels. Additional seismic pulses or swarms may occur with little or no warning and result in either intrusion of magma or eruption of lava.

Analysis: Recent four strong pulses of earthquake activity from July 22-25, clustered between Pauahi Crater and Maunaulu, represented stages in emplacement of an intrusive dike beneath this area. The intrusion and unrest are now over. The earthquakes and associated local deformation associated with the first three pulses were consistent with satellite data showing formation of a shallow (1-3 km, .5-2 mi) dike in this region. Deformation data was consistent with magma slowly moving out of the storage regions of the summit into the dike; deformation data now indicate this magma movement has ended. The strong pulse of earthquakes yesterday morning was clustered near the intersection of the Chain of Craters and Hilina Pali roads and was not clearly associated with dike formation. Seismic activity greatly decreased after the end of the fourth pulse, and is now back to pre-intrusion levels.

Additional seismic pulses or swarms may occur with little or no warning and result in either continued intrusion of magma or eruption of lava. Changes in the character and location of unrest can occur quickly, as can the potential for eruption, but there are no signs of an imminent eruption at this time.

Recent Eruption Information: Kīlauea erupted briefly on June 3, 2024, southwest of the summit region within a closed area of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. For more information about this eruption, see this webpage: -2024-kilauea-southwest-rift-zone-eruption.

Hazards: Shallow magma movement can produce minor to severe ground fractures and subsidence features, which can affect the landscape, human activity, and infrastructure. These ground cracks can continue to widen and offset as magma migration continues, may have unstable overhanging edges, and should be avoided.

Hazards remain around Kīlauea caldera from Halemaʻumaʻu crater wall instability, ground cracking, and rockfalls that can be enhanced by earthquakes within the area closed to the public. This underscores the extremely hazardous nature of the rim surrounding Halemaʻumaʻu crater, an area that has been closed to the public since early 2008.

Near the recent Southwest Rift Zone eruption site, minor to severe ground fractures and subsidence features may continue to widen and offset, may have unstable overhanging edges, and should be avoided. Hazards associated with the recent lava flows include glassy (sharp) surfaces that can cause serious abrasions, and lacerations upon contact with unprotected or exposed skin; uneven and rough terrain that can lead to falls and other injuries; or, locally elevated levels of volcanic gases that can lead to breathing difficulty.

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Summary of volcanic hazards from eruptions:
Recent earthquakes in Hawaiʻi (map and list):
Explanation of Volcano Alert Levels and Aviation Color Codes: -alert-levels-characterize-conditions-us-volcanoes

Entire villages were surprised by clouds of ash and deadly lava flows, says Luiz Corzo, Humanitarian and Emergency Assistance Coordinator for World Vision in Guatemala. Luiz says most of the people who fled to shelters were children.

Yes, the Fuego volcano is still active and unpredictable. Officials warn that eruptions could continue to spew more rocks, lava, ash, and toxic fumes. Landslides are also a hazard, as huge amounts of ash and debris have been deposited over a wide area.

Almost four months since the eruption, World Vision staff continue working with the government to carry out the national emergency response plan. We are responding to the volcanic eruption in the San Pedro Yepocapa program area, where an estimated 3,350 persons are affected and the water system is damaged. We have delivered bottled water along with medicines and supplies to treat people with skin and eye irritation and respiratory problems caused by exposure to volcanic ash.

We distributed 30,000 boxes of medical supplies to shelters in Escuintla, Alotenango, and Yepocapa, including nebulizers for treating respiratory injuries from ash and gases. We also provided more than 1,000 hygiene kits, as well as 200 school supplies kits for teachers and students.

Our staff in Guatemala plan to equip six schools in the affected area with emergency preparedness kits so they can be better prepared for future disasters. They also plan to train teachers in emergency and risk management and provide displaced families with water and food services through September 2019, as needed.

Overall, 46 volcanoes were in continuing eruption status as of 6 June 2024. An eruption marked as "continuing" does not always mean persistent daily activity, but indicates at least intermittent eruptive events without a break of 3 months or more. There are typically 40-50 continuing eruptions, and out of those generally around 20 will be actively erupting on any particular day (though we do not keep detailed statistics on daily activity). Additional annual eruption data is available for recent years.

The Smithsonian / USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report (WVAR) for the week ending on 23 July 2024 includes the 23 volcanoes shown below marked "Yes" in the WVAR column (rollover for report). The most recently started eruption is at the top, continuing as of the Last Known Activity date. An eruption listed here might have ended since the last data update, or at the update time a firm end date had not yet been determined due to potential renewed activity. Complete updates are done about every 6-8 weeks, but information about newer eruptions can be found in the Weekly Report.

On April 22, 2015, Calbuco volcano in southern Chile began erupting for the first time since 1972. An ash cloud rose at least 15 kilometers (50,000 feet) above the volcano, menacing the nearby communities of Puerto Montt (Chile) and San Carlos de Bariloche (Argentina). The eruption led the Chilean Emergency Management Agency and the Chilean Geology and Mining Service (SERNAGEOMIN) to order evacuations within a 20-kilometer (12 mile) radius around the volcano. About 1,500 to 2,000 people were evacuated; no casualties have been reported so far.

The volcanic mountain was quiet until tremors began late in the afternoon on April 22. An explosive pyroclastic eruption started at 6:04 p.m. local time (2104 Universal Time) and vigorously spewed ash and pumice for at least 90 minutes. Lava flows were observed from the main vent. A second high-energy pulse of ash occurred around 1 a.m. on April 23, according to SERNAGEOMIN.

Satellite instruments also acquired unusual nighttime views of the eruption (below) in the early morning hours of April 23. The joint NOAA/NASA Suomi NPP satellite observed atmospheric waves above Calbuco and its plume. The first image from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on Suomi NPP shows the heat signature of the hot ash in longwave infrared (11.45 micrometer channel).

Kavachi Volcano in the Solomon Islands is one of the most active submarine volcanoes in the Pacific. According to the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program, the volcano entered an eruptive phase in October 2021 and satellite data showed discolored water around Kavachi on several days in April and May 2022.

Since its first recorded eruption in 1939, Kavachi has created ephemeral islands on several occasions. But the islands, up to a kilometer long, have been eroded and washed away by wave action. The summit of the volcano is currently estimated to lie 20 meters (65 feet) below sea level; its base lies on the seafloor at a depth of 1.2 kilometers (0.75 miles).

A huge cloud of volcanic ash and gas rises above Mount Pinatubo, Philippines, on June 12, 1991. Three days later, the volcano exploded in the second-largest volcanic eruption on Earth in this century. Timely forecasts of this eruption by scientists from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology and the U.S. Geological Survey enabled people living near the volcano to evacuate to safer distances, saving at least 5,000 lives.

Precursors to the 1991 EruptionsOn July 16, 1990, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake (comparable in size to the great 1906 San Francisco, California, earthquake) struck about 60 miles (100 kilometers) northeast of Mount Pinatubo on the island of Luzon in the Philippines, shaking and squeezing the Earth's crust beneath the volcano. At Mount Pinatubo, this major earthquake caused a landslide, some local earthquakes, and a short-lived increase in steam emissions from a preexisting geothermal area, but otherwise the volcano seemed to be continuing its 500-year-old slumber undisturbed. In March and April 1991, however, molten rock (magma) rising toward the surface from more than 20 miles (32 kilometers) beneath Pinatubo triggered small earthquakes and caused powerful steam explosions that blasted three craters on the north flank of the volcano. Thousands of small earthquakes occurred beneath Pinatubo through April, May, and early June, and many thousand tons of noxious sulfur dioxide gas were also emitted by the volcano.

Following Mount Pinatubo's cataclysmic June 15, 1991, eruption, thousands of roofs collapsed under the weight of ash made wet by heavy rains (see example in photo above). Ash deposits from the eruption have also been remobilized by monsoon and typhoon rains to form giant mudflows of volcanic materials (lahars), which have caused more destruction than the eruption itself (photo at right shows village buried by lahars). (Photo above courtesy of Peter Baxter, University of Cambridge.

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