Volcano Erupts On New Zealand's North Island, No Injuries

[News_Editor]

Volcano erupts on New Zealand's North Island, no injuries < br />

2012-11-22 07:36:12 GMT+7 (ICT)

WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND (BNO NEWS) -- A volcano on the North Island of New Zealand erupted without warning on Wednesday afternoon, sending a massive plume of dark ash into the sky, authorities said. Scientists believe another eruption could take place during the next few weeks.

The eruption at Mount Tongariro, which is located at Tongariro National Park, about 300 kilometers (185 miles) north of Wellington, took place at 1:25 p.m. local time on Wednesday and lasted for less than 5 minutes. Local earthquake activity continued for about 15 minutes, after which no notable activity was recorded.

"We didn't hear anything but could suddenly see an ominous dark grey cloud of ash drifting towards us," said Nico Fournier, a staff member of GNS Science, who witnessed the eruption from a few kilometers (miles) away. The eruption did not result in any directed rock blasts or debris.

Dark ash, which indicates the eruption was caused by magma pressure deep underground, reached a height of 3 to 4 kilometers (1.8 to 2.4 miles) and briefly led to airspace being closed above the volcano. A light dusting of ash fell across part of State Highway 46 and northeast towards Turangi, leading to some road closures as a precaution.

Wednesday's small eruption follows a much larger, gas-driven eruption at Mount Tongariro on August 6, which was the first such event at the volcano in more than 100 years. The last eruption prior to August began in November 1896 and lasted nearly a year until October 1897.

GNS Science said the latest eruption took place without any warning signs, underscoring the unpredictable nature of volcanoes. "We cannot say what will happen next at Tongariro but the scenario considered most likely [..] is that we could expect another eruption of similar size at any time during the next few weeks," the agency said, adding that future eruptions are not expected to be larger.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2012-11-22

[GentlemanJim]

Well I hope it gets no worse. If I recall correctly some clown many years ago actually decided to build Wellington on an old volcano. Maybe not the wisest of moves. Time will tell.

[nztrev]

Wellington the capital is built on an active fault line Auckland the biggest city is built on a volcanic field approx 53 volcano's. Most recent eruption about 600yrs ago and supposedly 50yrs overdue for the next.

[Scott]

Well, I just took those cities off my list of 'must see places'. I still want to go, but think I'll just head out into the beautiful countryside.

[folium]

Well, I just took those cities off my list of 'must see places'. I still want to go, but think I'll just head out into the beautiful countryside.

If you are worried about quakes and possible volcanic eruptions, you will need to take NZ off your to do list almost entirely.

See below for shallow quakes (the dangerous ones) over last 10 years, and

Volcanoes of NZ:

Sorry to spoil your holiday plans!

PS NZ is also home to the lost supervolcanic eruption 26,500 years ago which wiped out some 60% of humanity in a sustained volcanic winter. Taupo is just north of the volcano reported in this article and has itself been showing signs of activity recently (see below). Perhaps it will be part of the fabled 21 Dec 2012 Armageddon (as allegedly prophesised by the Mayans)!

http://www.sott.net/article/249473-Is-The-Super-Volcano-Taupo-in-New-Zealand-Awakening

[folium]

And you want to be careful where you park your car when in NZ (see below for images from liquefaction caused by Feb 2011 Christchurch quake).

[GentlemanJim]

And you want to be careful where you park your car when in NZ (see below for images from liquefaction caused by Feb 2011 Christchurch quake).

Unbelievable!

[GentlemanJim]

Well, I just took those cities off my list of 'must see places'. I still want to go, but think I'll just head out into the beautiful countryside.

Get in a camper van and hit the road. I spent some of the best weeks of my life driving around South Island. it is God's country !!!

[RickBradford]

NZ is also home to the lost supervolcanic eruption 26,500 years ago which wiped out some 60% of humanity in a sustained volcanic winter. Taupo is just north of the volcano reported in this article and has itself been showing signs of activity recently

Yes, if Taupo blows its stack, things could change for the worse very quickly.

Those hot mud pools burping and belching away is all the activity I want to see from Taupo....

[TheWalkingMan]

"liquefaction" I never heard this word until the Loma Prieta (aka San Francisco Earthquake) Earthquake of '89.

[folium]

"liquefaction" I never heard this word until the Loma Prieta (aka San Francisco Earthquake) Earthquake of '89.

Liquefaction has been a common effect of many earthquakes worldwide though has only been recognized more recently.

A comparison of Loma Prieta1989 and San Francisco 1906 is informative. The latter had a far greater impact both in terms of the area affected and degree of intensity (see below):

http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1135/Loma_Prieta/BA_1906_vs_Loma_Prieta.html

but in terms of iiquefaction much the same areas that were hit in SF in1906 were also hit in 1989 (again see below).

1906

http://geomaps.wr.usgs.gov/sfgeo/liquefaction/image_pages/liqmap_16.html

and 1989

http://geomaps.wr.usgs.gov/sfgeo/liquefaction/image_pages/liqmap_17.html