Ruapehu Heating Up Fast. 11 April 2019
You can guarantee they will be watching closely though because Ruapehu is a very dangerous volcano due to the large crater lake. The Chrismas Eve, 1953 eruption blew the lake out and down the Whangaehu River where it took out the Tangiwai railbridge in a giant lahar just as the Wellington to Auckland Overnight Express came through. The 1995-1996 eruptions blew lahars everywhere including one that went straight through Whakapapa Skifield....some skiers said later they had never skied so fast as when they saw the lahar coming. Solar windstreams look set to continue for a few days which is going to keep Ruapehu hot and possibly hot enough to erupt. The vulcanologists in their report yesterday had noticed heating at the crater lake since September, 2018. Astute observers will notice that this was soon after the biggest world quake in three years occurred at Fiji on 19 August. Fijians said the 600km deep quake made the ground go up and down as if they were on a boat. Big, deep quakes like the Fiji 8.2 are possible precursors for later action as the energy slowly rises. Ruapehu may give some early signs of eruption with quake swarms and small steam explosions as it heats up. That will help the vulcanologists get a better picture and get some early warnings out. Thanks. Aotearoa Earthquake and Volcano Forecast Service © 2013 - 2024 |
