Tag Archives: major eruption

Michael Snyder: Yellowstone supervolcano rumblings; reasons to be watchful

Important Takeaways:

  • Is it possible that the Yellowstone supervolcano is gearing up for a major eruption? When most people think of Yellowstone, they tend to conjure up images of “Old Faithful”, Yogi Bear and a television show starring Kevin Costner.  But the reality of the matter is that Yellowstone poses a very serious threat to all of us.  Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming is actually sitting directly above a massive supervolcano.
  • So when Yellowstone shakes, that should definitely get our attention.
  • In late January, a magnitude 3.9 earthquake was keenly felt throughout Yellowstone National Park…
  • Subsequently, there were two very alarming earthquake swarms in the area during the month of February…
  • February seismicity in Yellowstone was marked by two swarms.
    • A swarm of 18 earthquakes was located approximately 13 miles south-southwest of Mammoth, in Yellowstone National Park, during February 1–8. The largest earthquake in the sequence was a magnitude 1.6 on February 3 at 1:24 AM MST.
    • A swarm of 11 earthquakes took place approximately 5 miles south-southeast of West Thumb, in Yellowstone National Park, on February 11. The largest earthquake in the sequence was a magnitude 2.4 on February 11 at 1:44 AM MST.
  • I want to be very clear about something.
  • There is absolutely no reason to panic at this stage.
  • But I do believe that we should be watching.
  • So exactly what would a full-blown eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano mean for the United States and for the rest of the world?
    • The magma “hotspot” underneath Yellowstone is approximately 300 miles wide.
    • A full-blown eruption of Yellowstone could be up to 1,000 times more powerful than the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980.
    • According to Google AI, a full-blown eruption of Yellowstone could send volcanic ash “up to 30-50 miles high”.
    • According to Wikipedia, the Yellowstone Caldera has been “rising as quickly as 150 millimeters (5.9 in) per year”.
    • There are more than a thousand earthquakes in the Yellowstone area every single year.
    • In the event of a full-blown eruption of Yellowstone, virtually the entire northwest United States will be completely destroyed
    • A full-blown eruption of Yellowstone would mean that just about everything within a 100-mile radius of Yellowstone would be immediately killed.
    • A full-blown eruption of Yellowstone could potentially dump a layer of volcanic ash that is at least 10 feet deep up to 1,000 miles away.
    • The “volcanic winter” that a massive Yellowstone eruption would cause would radically cool the planet. Some scientists believe that global temperatures would decline by up to 20 degrees.  This would result in a horrific global famine.
    • America would never be the same again after a massive Yellowstone eruption. Some scientists believe that a full eruption by Yellowstone would render two-thirds of the United States completely uninhabitable.
    • Scientists tell us that it is not a matter of “if” Yellowstone will erupt again but rather “when” the next inevitable eruption will take place.

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Philippines raises volcano alert level after lava flow

Mount Mayon erupts in Legazpi City, Philippines, January 13, 2018 in this still obtained from social media. Picture taken January 13, 2018.

By Enrico Dela Cruz

MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines raised the alert level at its rumbling Mayon volcano to “level 3” on Sunday after detecting lava flow and indications of activity that could lead to eruptions of magma.

More than 900 families have been evacuated from villages near Mayon, a tourist attraction because of its near-perfect cone shape, following a “steam-driven eruption” on Saturday.

Authorities advised people to cover their noses and mouths with a damp, clean cloth or dust mask if they were exposed to ash from the eruptions, and said aircraft must avoid flying close to the volcano’s summit.[nL4N1P807T]

Two similar “phreatic” eruptions occurred at the volcano in central Albay province on Sunday, unleashing more ash.

“Mayon’s summit crater is now exhibiting bright crater glow that signifies the growth of a new lava dome and beginnings of lava flow towards the southern slopes,” the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.

Residents wait for a military truck as they flee home for safety after Mayon volcano erupted in Camalig town, Albay province, south of Manila, Philippines January 14, 2018.

Residents wait for a military truck as they flee home for safety after Mayon volcano erupted in Camalig town, Albay province, south of Manila, Philippines January 14, 2018. REUTERS/Rhadyz Barcia

Phivolcs chief Renato Solidum said the volcano appeared due for another major eruption as it has been displaying abnormal behaviour since late last year.

“Alert level 3 is what we considered critical, 4 is when eruption is imminent, and 5 is eruption in progress,” Cedric Daep, head of the Albay Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, said in a radio interview.

Mayon’s most destructive eruption was in February 1841, when lava buried a town and killed 1,200 people. It last erupted in 2014, spewing lava and forcing thousands of people to evacuate.

The latest eruptions began on Saturday, unleashing ash, rocks and sulphur fumes and accompanied by rumbling sounds.

Phivolcs had earlier raised the alert to “level 2”, saying the activity was “probably of magmatic origin, which could lead to more phreatic eruptions or eventually to hazardous magmatic eruptions.”

Since Saturday’s first eruption, Phivolcs said it had recorded 158 rockfall events and urged people to stay away from a 6-kilometre (3.7 mile) radius Permanent Danger Zone and a 7-km Expanded Danger Zone on the volcano’s southern flank.

Landslides and sudden explosions or a dome collapse that may generate hazardous volcanic flows are also possible, it said.

People within the slope of the volcano, but outside the danger zones, were told to take precautionary measures against possible roof collapses due to accumulated ash and rainwater, and “lahar”, an Indonesian term for a volcanic mudflow.

And the provincial government suspended Monday’s classes from kindergarten to senior high school in some areas.

(Reporting by Enrico dela Cruz; Additional reporting by Manuel Mogato; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Alexander Smith)