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.
The Alaska House of Representatives has passed a law that would put new restrictions on abortions.
The bill would define a “medically necessary” abortion that would then place limits on what kinds of abortions can receive state funding. State funding through Medicaid would be prohibited from paying for any elective abortions.
Opponents of the bill are making the usual claims that the bill is just aimed to keep low-income women from ending the lives of their babies via abortion.
“This bill has nothing to do with restricting a women’s right to an abortion,” Representative Gabrielle LeDoux told Anchorage Daily News. “We’ve got the right to travel, but it doesn’t mean the government buys us a ticket to Paris. We’ve got the right to bear arms, but the government doesn’t buy us a Sturm Ruger.”
Democrats said the bill will not save the state any money since pro-abortionists would file repeated lawsuits to stop the law which will cost the state for legal defense.
The bill is headed back to the state Senate for a final vote before heading to the Governor.
It will be a very merry Christmas for Nome Covenant Church.
The church in a town of under 4,000 where the average temperature stays well below zero is on the far reaches of the Alaskan frontier. The church met in a building that was 75 years old and was literally being held together by cables.
The church’s pastor lived in fear of the church collapsing.
“Our old church was 75 years old, it was built with available materials at that time,” Pastor Harvey Fiskeaux told Fox News. “I was actually fearful it was going to fall in.”
The church found an outpouring of Christian love from Samaritan’s Purse, the Christian humanitarian organization known most for their Operation Christmas Child outreach.
The group flew 140 volunteers from all over the country to help the church build a brand new church and outreach center next door to the old church building.
“As a church we are there to help the infrastructure of family, children, and youth,” said Fiskeaux. “We are trying to help people’s lives.”
Pavlof Volcano, after weeks of spewing ash and lava, erupted with a new intensity Tuesday launching cinders 5 miles into the sky.
The ash has covered the town of King Cove, 30 miles south of the volcano. The ash plume has not risen beyond 28,000 feet so it doesn’t impact jetliner traffic but has forced lower-flying aircraft to divert to other flight paths. Continue reading →
Alaska is looking at its second volcanic eruption in a month.
The Alaska Volcano Observatory is reporting that tremors were detected Monday on Pavlof Volcano. The volcano is 37 miles from the community of Cold Bay, 620 miles southwest of Anchorage. Continue reading →
Three large explosions announced the beginning of a continual eruption phase for Alaska’s Cleveland Volcano.
The volcano, while remote and unlikely to cause problems to residents, is located below a major air route between Alaska and Asia. The volcano is releasing a steady plume of ash and toxic gases at least 15,000 feet into the air. Continue reading →
The Pacific “Ring of Fire” is doing its impression of Jerry Lee Lewis with a “whole lotta shakin’ going on” over the last day. Four earthquakes of a magnitude of 6 or greater shook three points on the “ring.”
The first struck in Chile with a magnitude 6.8 quake. The quake centered about 24 miles north of Vallenar and was felt as far away as the capital city of Santiago. One woman died of a heart attack that local officials attributed to stress brought on by the strong quake. Continue reading →
A 7.5 earthquake off the Alaskan coast generated a small tsunami late Friday night.
The quake centered 60 miles west of Craig, Alaska according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The Alaska Tsunami Center said that a small tsunami was created by the quake but it was not significant enough to be a serious threat to property. Continue reading →
An earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale shook Anchorage, Alaska and was felt for 175 miles from the epicenter according to the US Geological Survey.
The epicenter of the quake was approximately 30 miles northwest of downtown Anchorage. Despite the strength, the tsunami warning center reported no threat to the coastal areas. Continue reading →
A rise in Earthquakes in California and Alaska continued into a second day.
Alaska had three earthquakes strike in just over a two hour period. A 2.7 magnitude quake struck south of Seward, Alaska at 10:18. At 11:43, a 4.9 quake struck southeast of Whittier, Alaska with a second 3.0 magnitude quake hitting in the same area about 50 minutes later. Continue reading →
