Authorities in New Zealand are telling airlines worldwide to avoid Tonga on their international routes following a volcanic eruption.
The Wellington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center says the Hunga Ha’apai volcano near Tonga’s capital city Nuku’alofa is sending a “dark volcanic cloud” 16,000 feet into the air and 10 nautical miles around the island.
Authorities say it’s impossible to know what is happening around the volcano because of the thickness of the volcanic ash cloud.
All flights into Tonga have been cancelled with no announcement as to when they might restart.
Hunga Ha’apai is the same volcano that first appeared roaring out of the Pacific Ocean in 2009 to create an island.
It is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire.
A red alert has been issued for an Alaskan volcano located on the Pacific Ring of Fire.
Pavlof Volcano, which has been active for years in releasing smoke, erupted with high intensity sending a plume of ash and smoke over 24,000 feet into the sky. The eruption was so significantly that the Alaska Volcano Observatory issued their first red alert warning since 2009.
The last alert was for Alaska’s Mount Redoubt when an eruption sent a 2009 plume over 50,000 feet into the skies. Scientists believe that the volcano could be active long after the red alert will end.
“This means it can erupt for weeks or even months,” observatory research geologist Michelle Coombs said of the warning. “I don’t think we will be at red for that long, but we are expecting it to go for a while based on its past.”
Scientists say that commercial air traffic has yet to be impacted by the eruption but say that changing weather patterns could cause a serious disruption to flights.
A new volcano that erupted from the ocean last November and created it’s own small island has now grown to the point is has completely engulfed a neighboring volcano.
Niijima Island appeared out of the ocean in November and by the end of March created a landmass about a kilometer in length. The island is now 200 feet above sea level at its tallest point and it continues to rise.
Scientists had initially said the island would disappear back into the ocean but now say it’s uncertain how large the island could grow until after the volcano stops erupting.
The island is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire and located about 600 miles south of Tokyo.
The United States Geological Survey reported a magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck off the coast of Panama near the Costa Rican border.
The earthquake’s center was located in the Chiriqui province on the side of the country facing the Pacific Ocean.
Panama’s civil defense organization evacuated schools and a nearby hospital.
There have been no reports of injury or damage at this time.
Hours after an 8.2 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of northern Chile, scientists claim that an even bigger earthquake could strike in the near future.
A fault line located underneath Chile’s coast has been constantly shifting for the past 140 years causing Tuesday’s quake. Within recent weeks, Chile has seen approximately 50 to 100 smaller quakes.
This recent cluster of activity is now threatening to rupture a different fault line located to the north and south of the recent earthquake. Mark Simons, a geophysicist from Caltech, says that fault line “hasn’t ruptured in 140-odd years.”
Given that Chile is located in the “Ring of Fire” where there is frequent seismic activity, it is only a matter of time until the other fault line ruptures.
“We expect another 8.8-8.9 earthquake here sometime in the future,” said geophysicist, Mark Simons.
A major 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck off the Chilean Pacific coast Sunday that forced the evacuation of almost 100,000 residents from coastal areas.
The quake struck about 6:16 p.m. local time about a depth of 12.5 miles 37 miles northwest of Iquique. The quake was followed by a series of strong aftershocks ranging from magnitude 4.9 to 5.2 according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Officials say that no major damage is reported from the quake however many buildings have broken windows and cracked doors.
Chile’s navy had detected the possibility of a small tsunami setting off the tsunami warning systems between the towns of Arica and Tocopilla. The tsunami was smaller than expected with only a crest of 13 inches above normal sea level.
Chile, located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, is one of the world’s most earthquake-prone countries and is the location of the strongest quake in recorded history, a 9.5 magnitude in 1960 that killed over 5,000 people.
A major earthquake struck New Zealand’s north island on Monday shaking buildings and putting tens of thousands without power.
The 6.2 magnitude earthquake was centered about 70 miles northwest of Wellington, the nation’s capital, according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey. The USGS reported the quake was located about 17 miles deep. A series of weaker aftershocks continued through the afternoon and evening.
While there were no immediate reports of casualties, electricity was cut off for thousands throughout the region. All trains on the rail network were stopped for railway inspectors to investigate for cracks on the tracks.
The quake was strong enough to bring down a giant eagle statue hanging from the ceiling of Wellington’s international airport. No one was hurt by the falling sculpture although commuters had to scatter. Airport authorities are investigating how the sculpture could have fallen.
New Zealand is on the southwestern edge of the Pacific Ring of Fire.
Two volcanoes in Indonesia have erupted sending thousands fleeing and destroying entire crops.
Mount Sinabung first erupted Thursday in the early morning hours sending a plume of ash 23,000 feet into the air in the Karo region of North Sumatra. The mountain then erupted again just before noon with an ash plume that rose 16,400 feet.
Government officials rushed at least 5,500 residents away from the area.
Then today Mount Sinabung was the second Indonesia volcano to erupt in a span of hours. Mount Merapi exploded just before 5 a.m. local time send a plume of ash 6500 feet into the air. Hours later, Mount Sinabung erupted stronger than ever with an ash cloud rising 26,500 feet into the air.
The Indonesian Transportation Ministry has issued a statement to all airlines telling them to avoid the airspace surrounding the volcanoes because of the ash and their current instability.
The ash from the volcanoes has destroyed the crops of farmers surrounding the mountain who depend on their crops to live. A local farmer told the Jakarta Globe the losses to farmers in the region could end up in the billions. He said some of the farm land has been so damaged by the volcanoes they can no longer be used for farming.
Indonesia is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire.
Authorities in the Philippines’ Bohol province have raised the official death toll from last week’s 7.1 magnitude earthquake to 183 and the count of wounded to 583.
The massive quake destroyed over 8,600 homes in Quezon City.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said that landslides were reported throughout Bohol province and that outside Quezon City more than 8,500 homes were destroyed and over 26,000 were damaged.
The NDRRMC also said that many roads and bridges have suffered significant structural damage and many government buildings are unstable.
The earthquake has displaced more than 3.5 million people across six provinces.
The Philippines are directly above the Pacific Ring of Fire noted for its volcanic and earthquake activity.
Canada’s southern Pacific coast rattled Sunday with a moderate earthquake.
The 5.7 magnitude quake struck around 6:20 a.m. local time about 96 miles of Port Hardy on Vancouver Island. Continue reading →