Displaying items by tag: volcano

The World Economic Forum annual meeting of 3,000 of the world's richest and most powerful people took place this week in Davos. One of the speakers was Greta Thunberg, who opened a debate entitled, ‘How to avert a climate apocalypse’. Attendees were not able to avoid climate change, as the theme was ‘Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World.’ Meanwhile let us pray for Canadian residents cleaning-up after a monstrous winter storm that brought thirty inches of snow, causing chaos; for Australians dealing with the aftermath of severe thunderstorms, floods and hail the size of golf balls in different areas, while fire weather warnings cover parts of Western Australia; and for tens of thousands living near the restless Philippines volcano ‘recharging’ with fresh magma and toxic gas. The forum is asking all companies in Davos to commit to net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

At White Island, a privately-owned tourist destination, a volcano violently erupted on 9 December. A live feed showed several visitors inside the crater before the stream went dark. 47 tourists were there when it erupted: currently eight are dead, and eight more are missing. It is possible that not all the 31 patients in hospital will survive; 27 have at least 30% of their bodies burnt, and many have inhalation burns. Questions are being asked about why tourists were allowed to approach New Zealand's most active volcano three weeks after seismologists raised its alert level. Pray that the current police investigation receives honest answers to these and other questions arising.

A volcano on the tiny Italian island of Stromboli, off the coast of Sicily, has erupted for the second time in two months, forcing tourists to flee from this popular tourist spot. On 28 August a ‘high intensity’ explosion erupted, spewing huge clouds of black smoke and ash high into the sky. Streams of lava were seen rolling down the hills into the sea, forcing tourists to flee. Videos posted online show visitors in small boats desperately racing out to sea to avoid clouds of hot ash, which tore down the slopes of the volcano and into the waters surrounding the island. No injuries or damage have so far been reported, although the lava flows did start several small fires, forcing the authorities to send helicopters to dump water on the conflagrations. Stromboli is a continuously active volcano, but the recent eruptions are much larger than usual.

A series of eruptions has rocked the small island of Stromboli, off the west coast of Italy. The initial explosion was the largest since at least 2007, according to volcanologist Boris Benhcke. Firefighters were deployed to extinguish fires started by the eruption, and a helicopter was dispatched to rescue hikers in distress. One hiker died and a second was rescued. On 3 July, two primary eruptions occurred, preceded two minutes earlier by lava spills. At the time of writing there have been a further twenty minor explosive events. ‘We can still see the fire on the mountain,’ said one onlooker. ‘The mountain is burning but it doesn't look as if it's going to come to the village soon, at least. These eruptions are considerably more severe than normal. The island is engulfed in a plume of smoke.’

Mount Etna volcano is restless, with small earthquakes and steam emissions continuing for six days. Aerial footage by emergency services has revealed the scale of the damage from the two earthquakes (4.3 and 4.8 magnitude) which injured 28 people and left 600 homeless across a broad area near Catania, one of the most densely populated metropolitan districts in Sicily. More lava was being spewed out on 1 January: see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E42VCLuJC4I Strong gas and dense ash emissions have been rising, prompting frightened villagers to flee their homes. Italy's civil protection officials said that the quakes were part of a swarm of 1,000 tremors, most of them barely perceptible, that are linked to Etna's ongoing recent eruption.

Almost 4,000 people have been evacuated from the slopes of the Fuego volcano after it began erupting on 18 November, with ash and lava spewing from its crater. This comes five months after almost 200 people were buried by volcanic ash and mud during a violent eruption. That eruption generated pyroclastic flows - fast-moving mixtures of very hot gas and volcanic matter - which engulfed whole communities. Volcanologists say that this time, lava is rising 500m above the volcano's crater. The ash cloud towers one kilometre above the 3,763-metre tall volcano. Fuego is one of Latin America's most active volcanoes.

Air traffic controller Anthonius Agung died after waving out the last flight from Palu airport on 28 September (see). He was one of the first casualties of a disaster that has taken at least 1,407 lives, injured many thousands more, and left most of the 350,000 residents homeless when a 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck the island of Sulawesi. It triggered a ten- metre, 400mph tsunami that dragged cars, trees, houses, boulders, logs and mud inland. Three days later, Mount Soputan erupted, spewing ash clouds that make air flights hazardous. Clinics have no power and low medical supplies. Many communities have received no aid at all; other areas are experiencing looting. The tension is palpable with fights breaking out for food. Unless the government and agencies can deliver aid, there is a risk that tensions could spill over. Bridges must be repaired and roads restored before essential aid can reach points of need. Boats from other islands are delivering food, water and medicine.

There are over 75 people dead, 200 still missing and 3,319 in shelters, many of them with dead or missing loved ones, unable to return to homes and land destroyed by Guatemala’s most active volcano. Firefighters said the chance of finding anyone alive was now practically non-existent. The thick grey ash covering the region has been hardened by rainfall, making it even more difficult to dig through the piles of rocks and debris. Pray for the exhausted rescue workers still searching for survivors. Pray for those who have lost loved ones. Pray for the rural communities who have lost everything - land, livestock and livelihood - in a once-fertile collection of canyons, hillsides and farms now reduced to a moonscape of ash and debris. ‘In a matter of three or four minutes the village disappeared as a sea of muck came crashing into homes, inundating people, pets and wildlife’, said one survivor.

Fears are growing that Hawaii's Kilauea volcano is heading for a major eruption. The US Geological Survey has raised the alert from orange to red, meaning that a major volcanic eruption is imminent or very likely. The volcano is one of the world's most active, and its activity level has increased substantially over the past twelve days. A 300m-long fissure has opened on the volcano's side, releasing more lava and gas and sending a plume of ash and smoke as high as 12,000 feet. There were reports of ash and vog (volcanic air pollution) falling as far as 18 miles downwind, the USGS said. Dozens of homes and swathes of farmland in that area have been destroyed. US president Donald Trump declared it to be a disaster on Friday, following a request from Hawaii's governor, David Ige.

In Bali huge plumes of smoke continue to stretch 1,500m above Mount Agung as eruptions and low frequency earthquakes continue. The eruption threat remains at its highest level but it is not known when a major eruption will occur; so 70,000+ evacuees remain banished from their homes. In California wildfires have destroyed 1,000 structures to date, and six major fires still roar. Tens of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes. Smoke continues to obscure the sun in both places. Hundreds of people were forced to leave their homes in the Solomon Islands after several rivers overflowed on 5 December. After torrential rainfall on 1 December in Albania, 5,000 households suffered flood damage and 600 families are still homeless. In all of these instances people comfort each other after losing livestock, livelihoods, homes and possessions. Many are still living in fear. See