Displaying items by tag: volcano

At least 41 people have died in Sumatra due to flash floods and 'cold lava' from Mount Marapi, the island's most active volcano. Heavy rains on Saturday caused torrents of ash and rocks to flow down the volcano, inundating two districts and damaging over 100 homes and public facilities. Seventeen people remain missing. Survivors described fleeing from the 'cold lava' – a mix of volcanic material and pebbles. Rina Devina used her cellphone as a torch to escape, recounting how her neighbour's house was flattened, and four neighbours died. 'Cold lava' or 'lahar' typically has temperatures below 50°C and moves like a slurry, incorporating debris in its path. Rescuers found 19 bodies in Canduang village and nine in Tanah Datar district. Experts blame recurring natural disasters on excessive exploitation of natural resources and poor development practices. Recent events around Mount Marapi include a deadly eruption last December, flash floods in February, and eruptions in April which disrupted flights, closed roads, and forced over 11,000 evacuations.

On 18 December a volcano on the Reykjanes peninsula in south-west Iceland finally erupted, spewing glowing orange jets of lava surrounded by billowing clouds of red smoke. The population of Grindavík, a small fishing town nearby, had been evacuated in November after a series of small earthquakes. The government said the eruption did not present a threat to life; there were no disruptions to flights to and from Iceland, as this type of eruption does not usually produce much ash. Icelandic police have warned tourists to ‘think four times’ before attempting to get close to the eruption, after they had to rescue an exhausted hiker by helicopter. Iceland’s president, Guðni Jóhannesson, said: ‘Our priorities remain to protect lives and infrastructure. We wait to see what the forces of nature have in store. We are prepared and remain vigilant.’ The meteorological office said on 20 December that the power, seismicity and deformation of the eruption had decreased.

An undersea volcano eruption in Tonga on 15 January triggered tsunami waves flooding coastlines from Japan to America. By 20 January volcanic ash had been removed from the runway and the first humanitarian supplies arrived. The aid - water containers, kits for temporary shelters, generators, hygiene supplies and communications equipment - was contactless to ensure Tonga remains free of coronavirus. Limited communication restoration revealed horrendous destruction. Pray for swift and safe clean-up efforts. Australia’s high commissioner said the loss of property had been catastrophic. Along beaches is a moonscape where once beautiful resorts and many, many homes stood. Pray for aid to reach the homeless and for the vulnerable to be relocated to secure places. Pray for the 105,000 people still without any communication to be reconnected and for full internet services to resume sooner than the predicted month. Pray for the missing to be found alive and for the injured to be healed.

Unfortunately, there has been no change in activity in the Canary Islands volcano; the eruption continues to feed the growing lava flow field at high effusion rates. Its northern margins continue to be active and advancing south into areas already buried under lava flows. Consequently the government has had to evacuate another adjacent area.

Lava from the Cumbre Vieja volcano, which has been erupting for four weeks, has destroyed even more homes and buildings. The two new vents that opened last week have partially collapsed, causing lava to flow in multiple directions. The local airport was closed again for two days and 800 more homes were evacuated as rapid flows of molten lava moved towards them, bursting homes into flames. There were 64 more seismic movements recorded, the strongest measuring 4.1. There are no signs of eruptions and earthquakes stopping soon. Over 1,100 buildings and 600 hectares of land had been destroyed by 13 October, and the next day the lava flows expanded again with even more evacuations ordered in three more areas.

The Canary Islands volcano has blown open two more fissures, and intense activity has worsened, three weeks after the original eruption. The prompt evacuation of more than 6,000 people since the 19 September eruption helped prevent casualties. By 3 October the lava had destroyed or partially destroyed 1,000+ buildings, including homes and farming infrastructure. By 7 October it had destroyed 21 miles of roads and entombed large areas of land, with no indication of lessening. 

Lava from La Palma’s volcano has now reached the Atlantic Ocean. When this happens there is a chemical reaction as hot lava boils the colder sea water. Volcanologist Dr Robin Andrews said, ‘It creates a steam of hydrochloric acid, water vapour and bits of ash. Volcanic explosions are possible because lava entering sea water creates a pressure-cooker situation that throws out volcanic debris.’ Authorities have set up an exclusion zone around the lava, including in the sea, to keep people away from any potential danger. Three coastal villages are now locked down. Please continue to pray for the hundreds of families whose homes were destroyed by lava, the 6,000+ evacuated people, the owners of destroyed banana plantations and businesses, and the pupils and parishioners of destroyed schools and a church. Authorities declared La Palma a disaster zone. Pray there will be enough financial support for everyone affected.

400,000 people have been evacuated from ‘red zones’ in the city of Goma, home to between 560,000 and a million people. Nyirangono’s lava flow has destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses and severed most electricity into Goma, causing massive black-outs in a panic-stricken and vulnerable area. Lack of power to water pumping stations has disrupted water availability to over a million people, drastically reducing living standards. There are continuing aftershocks and further eruptions, with cholera and Covid causing serious concerns. Poor electricity supplies to four major hospitals in the area effectively limits their ability to deal with serious injuries, casualties and sickness. The eastern region of Congo is one of the most vulnerable areas on the continent. Decades of war have led to extreme poverty. Already limited resources are under enormous strain, and the people of Goma and the surrounding area are in need of urgent assistance. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said 500,000 people are without clean drinking water. See also

Volcanic eruptions on St Vincent have displaced about 20% of the Caribbean island’s population, as a UN official warned of a growing humanitarian crisis. Between 16,000 to 20,000 people were evacuated under government orders when La Soufrière volcano first erupted on 9 April, covering the island with ash that continues to blanket St Vincent, Barbados, and other islands. 6,000 of those evacuees are vulnerable. 20,000 risk food insecurity from loss of livelihoods in fisheries & agriculture. 4,000 are living in 87 government shelters, schools, churches and others are in hotels. Most of the water systems are shut down. Cots, sanitation, hygiene and emergency latrines are urgently needed. Ongoing explosions are causing new pyroclastic flows that could continue for weeks.

Please call on the Lord for his intervention in the swarms of locusts that are growing and devouring farms in Africa, now spreading to the Middle East and China. (See). Pray for the hundreds of thousands forced to evacuate their homes after unusual flooding has devastated Australia, Southern USA, Bolivia, Peru, Indonesia and parts of the UK. (See) Over the past two months seismic activity has been rising. Last week a 7.7 quake struck off the coast of Jamaica shaking people as far away as Miami and Mount Merapi in Indonesia erupted launching lava and ash 2,000 metres into the sky, forcing residents to flee to a 1.8 mile designated no-go zone. (See) Pray for peace of mind for those living near seismic activity. Coronavirus infections continue to rise but less media coverage has been given to the highly contagious H1N1 virus that claimed 13 lives in one week in Taiwan (See)