Volcano

Tonga volcano eruption: Air New Zealand postpones repatriation flight due to ash clouds

The flight was scheduled to leave Auckland this Thursday.

Air New Zealand chief operational integrity and safety officer captain David Morgan said they were postponing the service indefinitely and contacting affected customers.

He said they were monitoring the situation closely and their hearts went out to people in Tonga who have been affected by the volcanic eruption and tsunami over the weekend.

"Those affected include our Air New Zealand partners who help with airport operations and our sales and cargo offices in Tonga," Morgan said in a statement.

New tsunami warning as waves hit Tonga

A tsunami wave struck Tongatapu after locals were urged to seek higher ground.

It came shortly after locals in Tongatapu reported “deafening” sound of an eruption this afternoon. They also reported stones pouring down in Tongatapu.

No injuries or deaths have been reported.

Kaniva News correspondent in Tonga Patimiosi Ngūngūtau shared a photo of sea waves flowing inland.

He described the deafening sound as “weird”.

“It was a rain of small black stones and black ashes”, he said.

He said they have evacuated to Liahona at the central south.

Canary Islands volcano: 'Miracle house' escapes lava

People on social media have dubbed the residence in La Palma a "miracle house".

The volcano started erupting on Sunday. More than 200 homes have been destroyed and about 6,000 people evacuated.

The lava from the Cumbre Vieja volcano is still advancing and scientists are not sure how long the eruption will last.

The image by photographer Alfonso Escalero shows the house surrounded by rivers of lava from the Cumbre Vieja volcano.

It is owned by a retired Danish couple, Inge and Ranier Cocq, who have not visited since the pandemic began, according to El Mundo.

'Volcano tsunami' hits Indonesia after Krakatoa eruption

The country's disaster management agency says hundreds of buildings were damaged by Saturday's tsunami.

It says the possible cause of the tsunami was undersea landslides after the Krakatoa volcano erupted.

The strait, between the islands of Java and Sumatra, connects the Java Sea to the Indian Ocean.

The disaster management agency warned that the death toll after the tsunami, that struck at about 21:30 local time (14:30GMT) on Saturday, is likely to rise further.

Deaths have been reported in the Pandeglang, South Lampung and Serang regions.

Thousands flee as Guatemala's Fuego volcano erupts

The stratovolcano southwest of the city of Antigua began erupting on Sunday, with ash and lava spewing from its crater.

It comes five months after almost 200 people were buried by volcanic ash and mud during a violent eruption in June. That eruption generated pyroclastic flows - fast-moving mixtures of very hot gas and volcanic matter - which descended down the slopes, engulfing communities such as El Rodeo and San Miguel Los Lotes.

Volcanologists say lava is rising 500m above the volcano's crater.

Eruption of Hawaii's Kilauea volcano slows to virtual halt

The US Geological Survey's Tina Neal said the lone volcanic fissure that was still active last week had dwindled from a fountain of molten rock to a bubbling pond of lava, no longer spilling out of the cone surrounding it.

Levels of sulfur dioxide gas vented from the fissure, located on the lower east flank of Kilauea, had also dropped dramatically, she said.

The subdued activity there coincided with another major collapse in the outer wall of the summit crater last week.

Volcanic lava buries two Hawaii neighbourhoods

     

The Kapoho Beach Lots and Vacationland subdivisions were engulfed by a flow of molten rock some 3m to 4.6m tall.

It brings to at least 350 the number of homes and other structures consumed by volcanic lava during the past month.

That latest toll of property losses from Kilauea's ongoing upheaval, which entered its 35th day on Wednesday, far surpasses the 215 structures destroyed by lava during all 35 years of the volcano's last eruption cycle, which began in 1983.

Latest Kilauea blast sends ash 4km into Hawaii skies

The ongoing eruption, which has produced rivers of lava, is also threatening to cover more wells at a geothermal power station.

Officials have said the power plant is safe but residents fear it may be explosive.

The eruption of Kilauea, which began on May 3rd, has so far destroyed 82 homes and fast moving lava is continuing to force evacuations.

 

     

Hawaii 'vog' blankets Marshall Islands

United States weather officials on Guam issued a special weather update on Sunday about the "haze plume" that is expected to continue moving westward through the Federated States of Micronesia.

Hawaii residents refer to the haze caused by volcanic eruptions on the Big Island as "vog," a phenomenon now being experienced in the Marshall Islands, more than 2,300 miles to the southwest of the Hawaiian Islands.

The volcano in Hawaii is now in its fourth week of continuous eruptions.

Preparedness urged in Hawaii as volcano threat shifts

People on Big Island are preparing for the worst as officials urge communities in high risk areas to be ready to evacuate at a moment's notice.

Kilauea's official volcano threat was raised from orange to red over the past two days, as the summit's crater showed signs that a more violent eruption could follow.

Civil defense is urging locals to remain vigilant and heed warnings, with people being informed about designated evacuation centres.

Thousands of people have already evacuated their homes after the eruption destroyed around 30 structures in the past two weeks.