Indonesian officials are evacuating hundreds more residents near Mount Sinabung as the volcano continues to increase a lava flow and eruptions.
Gede Suantika, government volcanologist, said that 28 hot ash avalanches took place in one day on Mount Sinabung. The lava dome on the mountain continues to build in size creating the possibility of a serious eruption.
The number of people evacuated in recent weeks has topped 3,000.
The circle of exclusion around the mountain is now 3 miles. Residents forced to flee have been complaining about the forced evacuation, saying they are farmers and they have no way to make a living if they are forced off their land.
However, a Saturday blast of hot ash spread two miles from the volcano, leading the government to expand the forced evacuation and removal of angry residents.
The mountain has caused scientists to keep it on the highest alert level since June 2 with a lava dome estimated at 106 million cubic feet.
The mountain came alive after 400 years of dormancy in 2010. Last year, an eruption left 17 people dead. The mountain is on the Pacific Ring of Fire.
A powerful earthquake struck Papua New Guinea on Tuesday morning generating a small tsunami near the epicenter.
Officials with the Geophysical Observatory in Port Moresby said that the tsunami was 3 feet high and struck in the harbor of Rabaul. The tsunami caused no flooding and it did not pass the level of the high tide.
The magnitude 7.5 quake struck around 1:45 a.m. local time.
The quake happened along the tectonic plate under Australia and its overriding Pacific plates. The quake has been preceded by a series of quakes along the fault line that started with a magnitude 7.5 quake on March 29, 2015.
Local officials say there was no widespread damage because of the quake but power lines were brought down in the area of Rabaul. In Kokopo, buildings were reported with cracks in the walls and other structural damage but there were no reports of injuries.
The quake site is along the Pacific Ring of Fire.
A major earthquake struck off the coast of Japan early Tuesday causing a small tsunami.
The 6.9 magnitude quake struck around 6 a.m. local time, 6.2 miles deep and 52 miles east-northeast of Miyako, Japan.
The quake did not initially cause a tsunami warning from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center and an advisory from the Japan Meteorological Agency was quickly cancelled. However, residents of Iwate Prefecture reported a tsunami of about three feet in height.
No significant damage was reported as a result of the small tsunami.
Iwate Prefecture is a rural area with a total population around 1.3 million. A nuclear power plant in the region reportedly had no damage. Local train lines have suspended operations until the tracks can be examined for damage.
The location of the quake was on the Pacific Ring of Fire.
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.
