BREAKING: New Zealand volcano eruption strands travellers

New Zealand volcano eruption strands travellers

www.smh.com.au

Hundreds of travellers have been left stranded after the eruption of Mt Tongariro on New Zealand's North Island caused road closures and flight cancellations.

The volcano erupted about 11.50pm (2150 AEST) on Monday night - its first eruption for more than a century, spewing ash from the Te Maari craters on the northern side of the mountain and prompting a threat warning for the central North Island.

(visit the link for the full news article)

There have been no reports of injuries or damage.

Civil Defence said the eruption could pose a threat to Waikato, Hawke's Bay, Gisborne, Manawatu, Wanganui, Bay of Plenty and Taranaki.

GNS Science volcanologist Michael Rosenberg told Radio New Zealand the situation at the mountain was not yet clear.

"For the moment, things are quiet (but that) doesn't necessarily mean that the eruption is over and done with - it could reactivate at any time so we're watching pretty closely.

"It's possible that this could be the start of a much longer episode, or alternatively it could be the end. We just don't know."

HOLY #!!!

I had a feeling that a volcanic eruption was coming and now here it is. A volcano has erupted on the North island...

Hopefully this does not wake up the already rumbling super volcanoes located on the North island!

www.smh.com.au
(visit the link for the full news article)

Another Site with much more detail:

earthquake-report.com...

Seismograph:

Looks like the eruption was in a national park, and not many people were around.

Scientists say they noticed increased seismic activity below Mount Tongariro for weeks but got no specific warning before the volcano blew late Monday night. The eruption of ash and rocks lasted about 30 minutes and didn't cause any injuries or damage in the sparsely populated central North Island region, which is a designated national park.

www.usatoday.com...

Originally posted by DontTreadOnMe
Looks like the eruption was in a national park, and not many people were around.

Scientists say they noticed increased seismic activity below Mount Tongariro for weeks but got no specific warning before the volcano blew late Monday night. The eruption of ash and rocks lasted about 30 minutes and didn't cause any injuries or damage in the sparsely populated central North Island region, which is a designated national park.

www.usatoday.com...

Which is good!

I have read that there aren't any reported deaths or injuries...but i hope that the people who were around get recovered.

reply to post by daaskapital


What already rumbling 'super volcanoes' ??

The roads were closed for a few hours... This happens regularly when fatal crashes occur in that area, which are mostly caused by tourists, or when it snows severely. No big deal here.

There is a possibility it will get worse, but so far only light ash fall has blown eastward as far as Napier. It's a hydrothermal eruption at this stage.

Relax.

It's barely noticeable - a few flights to a couple of small provincial cities disrupted.

New Zealand is volcanically active - this is hardly aternative, but at least it is news!!

Originally posted by Derpitude
reply to post by daaskapital

 

What already rumbling 'super volcanoes' ??

It was a fiar while ago now...but nevertheless, they were rumbling:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

The roads were closed for a few hours... This happens regularly when fatal crashes occur in that area, which are mostly caused by tourists, or when it snows severely. No big deal here.

There is a possibility it will get worse, but so far only light ash fall has blown eastward as far as Napier. It's a hydrothermal eruption at this stage.

Relax.

Well look, usually earthquakes or volcanic eruptions can cause others to become active. Even if this was still minor, it is best to be prepared for what may follow.

Oh they are prepared... It's not the first time eruptions have happened on the central plateau in relatively recent years. Ngaruahoe in '77, Ruapehu in '95/'96 and '07 etc. Army Iroquois choppers are on stand by to evacuate people as necessary.

Usually it's the lahars they worry about.

Wots a lahar?
Somebody who wont evac and just stands there laughing like la har har la har boom

reply to post by stirling


Mud flow from a volcanic eruption or burst crater lake or similar - the Tangiwai disaste of 1953 was caused by a lahar when the crater lake of Mt Ruapehu broke its banks.

It has not been put in the press much, but there has been a great deal of strong earthquake activity in the same regions and I wonder if the two are connected.

There has also been a lot of earthquake activity in South and central America and I wonder if we will see something there in the next several days.

Something to look for.

Alot of strange things happening in nature right now.

reply to post by Outcast2


Any time a slight earthquake happens in NZ it gets reported. To the point that weeks ago they raised the alert level of Tongariro because of increased earthquake activity. Everybody seems to have forgotten that fact.

Earthquakes are not strange nor uncommon in NZ. They're almost a novelty. The country bridges the Ring of Fire. There's even an active geothermal wonderland mere kilometres from where the current activity is taking place. Not to mention White Island doing it's thing at the moment too.

neic.usgs.gov...

links to all of the earthquake activity in the last several days, notice a great deal in the New Zealand area (generally speaking);,
neic.usgs.gov/neis/bulletin/neic_b000bldc_tz.html also lists recent volcanic eruptions in addition to earthquakes.

On my screen there is a map in the upper right where you can zoom in on areas to see the earthquake and volcanic activity. And,
www.volcanodiscovery.com... shows what is erupting. Great tour locations [sarcasm on my part- some might like to see one though- not me]

Point noted about certain areas having frequent earthquake activity. The entire pacific rim and the western rim of the south american area much the same. Still, it does seem like there is more volcanic acitivity and plate shift could be one cause of the increase.

Here in the US we have the super volcano at Yosemite that could "erupt at any time" (although I have heard that my entire life and I am 48).

reply to post by daaskapital

Originally posted by daaskapital

Originally posted by Derpitude
reply to post by daaskapital

 

What already rumbling 'super volcanoes' ??

It was a fiar while ago now...but nevertheless, they were rumbling:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

I remember this coming up on another thread, and was rather disappointed with the way the RSOE site reports on their "supervolcano activity". All three of the calderas (Taupo, Whakamaru and Reporoa), had the same quake attributed to them. The quake was a minor quake at 2.4 with an epicenter over 50 km away from the closest caldera, and had no relevance whatsoever to the actual volcanoes.

I lived within the Reporoa Caldera for many years, and although there is a lot of hydrothermal activity, there has not been any volcanic activity there for a very, very long time. I would investigate the information on RSOE before assuming it is factually correct, as they often attribute quakes to the super volcanoes which are of no relevance at all.

Regarding the Tongariro eruption, it has been fairly quiet since the initial eruption. Perhaps this is an indication that activity will die down there, but I have a feeling that we haven't seen the last of this eruptive phase. But there have been many eruptions in the Tongariro National Park that have not influenced the nearby Taupo caldera in any way. Not saying there is no connection at all, but I don't think the recent activity is an indication of a pending "super" volcanic eruption. It's good to be aware of the possibility though