. Earth Science News .
SHAKE AND BLOW
Bali volcano evacuees outside red zone fearful to return home
 by Staff Writers
 Jakarta (AFP) Oct 2, 2017


Vanuatu volcano eruption threat recedes: scientists
Wellington (AFP) Oct 3, 2017 - A Vanuatu volcano that sparked the evacuation of an entire island appeared to be stabilising, scientists said Tuesday, although aid workers said it was too early for villagers to return home.

All 11,000 people who live on Ambae, in the north of the Pacific archipelago, were ordered to leave after the Manaro Voui volcano rumbled to life and rained rock and ash on villages last week.

Fearing a major eruption, officials mobilised a rag-tag armada of civilian vessels to ferry residents to safety on other islands in what has been described as a "Dunkirk" style operation.

Vanuatu's official Geohazards Observatory said the threat had eased, although it maintained the volcano's status as level four, the second-highest rating.

It said the most recent observations from flyovers and seismic stations indicated the seismic activity was now limited to a lake in the volcano's crater.

"As the activity is now more settled and focused only on the new island in Lake Voui, the possibility of a large eruption affecting the whole island is now looking less likely," it said.

Red Cross spokesman Joe Cropp said the report of reduced seismic activity was "reassuring" but there were still thousands of people in emergency accommodation.

Locals can only return to Ambae when the government downgrades the threat to level three, which could take months, he said.

"We're still holding with the original plan of providing support to people for the next two weeks, then looking forward to the indefinite future," Cropp told AFP from the capital Port Vila.

"We have to plan ahead and be prepared... because we're not quite sure which way the volcano is going."

He said most of Ambae's population had now been relocated to three neighbouring islands, where they were sheltering in schools, churches and sporting grounds.

The evacuation succeeded in removing Ambae's population more than two days before the government target of Friday, Cropp added.

"You'd see people boarding a whole range of vessels," he said.

"I think the largest could take about 1,000 people and I also saw small water-taxi speedboats taking 20-30 people.

"For a really complicated evacuation of 11,000 people from a remote island it was quite impressive."

It comes as international relief efforts stepped up with the arrival of two Hercules aircraft carrying supplies, one from Australia and the other from New Zealand.

An Australian navy vessel with emergency specialists and food supplies is expected to arrive on Wednesday.

Thousands of residents who fled a rumbling volcano on the island of Bali are refusing to leave evacuation centres after being told to return to their homes outside of the immediate danger zone.

Officials announced the highest possible alert level for Mount Agung, about 75 kilometres (47 miles) from the resort hub of Kuta, on September 22, telling people not to venture within nine to 12 kilometres of the summit.

Some 144,000 people fled their homes following the warning, including about 75,000 who were not in immediate danger, according to officials.

The government has since urged evacuees from outside the red zone to return home, but many are refusing to go.

"Honestly I don't have the courage to go home right now because my children are still young, our house is located in a narrow alley, I don't know if we will have enough time to evacuate [if the volcano erupts]," mother Cecilia Eka Setyarini Utami, who fled to an evacuation centre in Denpasar, told AFP.

Kadek Kanda, the coordinator of an evacuation centre in Bali's capital Denpasar, said his shelter was so full he had stopped accepting evacuees.

"Some people whose houses are not within the danger zone have started to return home this morning, but for those who decided to stay, we don't have the heart to tell them to go home."

Indonesia's Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation said the number of volcanic tremors was still high -- 222 between midnight and 6am Monday -- but the situation was stable.

"You have acceleration prior to September 22. At that moment we increased the alert level, but thereafter the number of seismicity is almost the same day by day," said Devy Kamil, a senior official at the centre, told AFP.

White steam clouds -- which contain sulphurous fumes -- have been observed rising 50 to 200 metres above the summit.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" where tectonic plates collide, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity.

In 2010, Mount Merapi on the island of Java erupted after rumbling since 2006, while Mount Sinabung on Sumatra island -- which is currently also on the highest alert level -- has been active since 2013.

Volcanologists cannot predict when an eruption may occur, but Kamil said the risk had not decreased.

Mount Agung last erupted in 1963, killing nearly 1,600 people.

SHAKE AND BLOW
Australia sends naval support to Vanuatu's volcano island
 Sydney (AFP) Oct 1, 2017
 Australia has sent a naval ship to help evacuate thousands of people from Vanuatu's Ambae island, where a volcano is threatening a major eruption. The Vanuatu government announced last week that all 11,000 residents on Ambae - in the north of the Pacific archipelago - would be moved, after the Manaro Voui volcano rumbled to life and rained rock and ash on villages. The landing ship HMA ... read more
Related Links
 Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
When the Earth Quakes
A world of storm and tempest

Thanks for being here;
 We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once

credit card or paypal
 		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly

paypal only


Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.
Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

SHAKE AND BLOW
NASA Damage Map Aids Puerto Rico Hurricane Response

 Signs of corruption emerge from rubble of Mexico quake

 Fear of epidemic disaster as disease stalks Rohingya camps

 Water from a rock: Puerto Ricans cope with hurricane aftermath
SHAKE AND BLOW
Ultracold atoms point toward an intriguing magnetic behavior

 UV-irradiated amorphous ice behaves like liquid at low temperatures

 The 3-D selfie has arrived

 Researchers developing new technique that uses light to separate mirrored molecules
SHAKE AND BLOW
Getting the measure of mud

 Scientists call for more research on how human activities affect the seabed

 A sustainable future powered by sea

 Discovery of a new group of sponges could help measure impact of deep-sea mining
SHAKE AND BLOW
Winter cold extremes linked to high-altitude polar vortex weakening

 Shipping risks rise as Antarctic ice hits record low

 Researchers take on atmospheric effects of Arctic snowmelt

 End-of-summer Arctic sea ice extent is eighth lowest on record
SHAKE AND BLOW
Planet-warming methane from livestock underestimated: study

 Climate insurance is rarely well thought out in agriculture

 Global methane emissions from agriculture possibly much larger

 Global network of botanical gardens contain a third of all known plant species
SHAKE AND BLOW
Earthquake warning systems improving, but prediction still not possible, scientists say

 More than 120,000 flee rumbling Bali volcano

 After tsunami, ocean plastic acted as rafts for small sea life

 Climate change can goad volcanoes into life
SHAKE AND BLOW
Ghanaian villagers profit from monkey business

 The link between drought and riots in sub-Saharan Africa

 New ceasefire signed by armed groups

 C. Africa asks UN to send more peacekeepers, ease arms embargo
SHAKE AND BLOW
Researchers explore why humans don't purge lethal genetic disorders from the population

 Chimpanzees can learn how to use tools without observing others

 Ancient human DNA in sub-Saharan Africa lifts veil on prehistory

 Helping Ponso, sole survivor of 'Chimpanzee Island' in I. Coast








The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.