Residents Flee Nicaraguan Volcano

Nicaraguan authorities are using army forces to evacuate people from the base of the San Cristobal volcano after it began to erupt Tuesday night.

The authorities declared an “amber alert” for a 2 square mile area around the volcano warning of the risk of major eruption. Airlines were also told to avoid flying over the western part of the country due to ash plumes. Continue reading

Red Alert Issued For Chilean Volcano

A volcano on the border between Chile and Argentina is on the verge of a major eruption according to Chile’s Geological and Mining Service.  They have issued a red alert, the highest level warning in their volcano warning system.

The volcano is in a remote location of the country and there is very little residential population surrounding it.  Most of the residents who could be impacted by a full eruption live in Argentina. Continue reading

Mass Evacuations At Nicaragua’s San Cristobal Volcano

The San Cristobal volcano began spewing ash and gas forcing the Nicaraguan government to evacuate around 3,000 residents from around the mountain.

Government officials say that up to 20,000 people could be displaced by the volcano. The volcano began to erupt on Saturday morning following the sound of violent explosions on the mountain. A 2.5 mile column of smoke and ash is being seen coming from the top of the mountain. Continue reading

Pumice Island Larger Than Maryland

A floating island of volcanic rock larger than the state of Maryland is floating a thousand miles off the eastern coast of New Zealand. New Zealand Air Force planes first spotted the mass, which looks like a giant ice shelf under spotlights, earlier this week.

The golf ball sized pumice causes little threat to ships and shipping according to government volcanologists. They attribute the rocks to an eruption of an undersea volcano. Naval officials have called it the “weirdest thing” they’ve seen in their career. Continue reading

New Zealand Volcano Erupts

New Zealand’s Mount Tongariro erupted late Sunday night sending rocks and ash into the sky. Witnesses reported seeing “flame like explosions” and at least one witness reported seeing a new hole in the side of the mountain.

Mount Tongariro is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire. The volcano is made up of 12 separate cones. The current eruption happened at the Te Mari craters which had been dormant since 1897.

Residents of the area were ordered to stay inside and keep their doors and windows closed until given an all clear by government officials. Continue reading