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| -Signs, Portents, and the Weather- |
| Alaskan Volcano Mt. Redoubt Erupts 5 times - Ash clouds headed north |
| 2009-03-23 |
| ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A fifth explosion rocked Mount Redoubt early Monday morning during the volcano's overnight eruption. It was the largest yet, according to the Alaska Volcano Observatory. The AVO says another "large explosion" started at the volcano at 4:37 a.m. Monday, part of an eruptive sequence that began shortly after 10:30 p.m. Sunday. The National Weather Service has issued an ash fall advisory for the cities of Talkeetna, Willow and Cantwell, effective until 8 a.m. Monday. Ash fall has been reported in Skwentna and Petersville, and AVO says ash is still being emitted from the volcano. "Beginning at 10:38 p.m. (Sunday) night, we began to have explosive activity," geophysicist John Power with the United States Geological Survey said. "At this point we have recorded four separate explosive events. "These events were very large, explosive eruptions of Redoubt Volcano." An eruption cloud is estimated to be at 60,000 feet above sea level at present and heading north-northeast, according to the National Weather Service. Predictions before the most recent eruption called for light ash fall and for it to miss Anchorage, but things can change rapidly. Schools in the Mat-Su and Anchorage will remain open, according to Patty Sullivan, public information officer for the Mat-Su Borough and Anchorage School District spokesperson Heidi Embley. Embley went on to say that ash fall conditions would have to change dramatically to close schools, and in any event schools are better prepared to shelter kids if necessary. A bulletin at the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District's Web site says its schools will also remain open. A flash flood warning has been issued for the Drift River near Mount Redoubt. A Chevron oil terminal at Drift River just 27 miles from the volcano has initiated shutdown procedures to "both protect the health and safety of its employees and contractors and to safeguard the environment against a possible spill from its crude storage operations at its facility," Cook Inlet Pipe Line Co. said in a press release. Elmendorf Air Force Base said all base personnel should report to work by 8 a.m. Monday. Every Home Depot in Anchorage and the Mat-Su will be open 24 hours a day until further notice. A representative with the company says it is well-stocked with emergency supplies. There were about 20 people in line at the Tudor Road store at 2:20 a.m. "What we've seen at Redoubt over the last two days is a very marked buildup in earthquake activity, earthquakes centered directly beneath the summit of the volcano," Power said. The first explosion occurred at 10:38 p.m., a second at 11:02 p.m., a third at 12:14 a.m. and the most recent event at 1:39 a.m. At 9:32 p.m., AVO issued an update stating that seismicity at Redoubt had increased significantly. At 11:02 p.m. it issued a release saying the eruption had begun. The history of Redoubt suggests that this is only the beginning. "Based on Redoubt's past eruptive behavior we might expect this particular eruptive episode to persist for some period of time," Power said. "The most recent eruption of Redoubt went on intermittently for a period of five months." Elevated unrest at Redoubt began about six weeks ago with increased seismicity. AVO raised the alert level to orange, and it stayed there until about 10 days ago after a period of relative calm. "This activity is something we've been expecting to see at Redoubt," Power said. "We first began tracking unrest at Redoubt in July of 2008. On November 5th we moved up our aviation alert to yellow, January 25th as activity escalated further we moved up to orange." It was lowered back to yellow, but late Saturday evening it returned to orange when earthquake activity increased significantly, culminating in Sunday's eruption. We have not had any ash fall in the Anchorage or Mat-Su areas. But I do keep my North mask handy, and we are stocked up with supplies if we have to stay home and wait it out. Airline flights in and out of Fairbanks and Anchorage, as well as other Alaska hubs have been curtailed or canceled as a precaution in many cases. |
| Posted by:Alaska Paul |
| #4 I doubt anyone ever called Alaska the Big Easy. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2009-03-23 20:25 |
| #3 The eruptions that we expect from Redoubt, Spurr, et al, are mainly ash eruptions. Heat from melting ice can trigger mud flows down the mountainsides. All the entities around South Central Alaska are well versed in emergency preparedness, as well as the Chevron Drift River facility and offshore gas rigs in Cook Inlet. This is not New Orleans. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2009-03-23 19:40 |
| #2 Its going to be interesting to see how Palin responds vis a vis that idiot in Louisiana or even The One at the Federal level should this thing become another Mt. Saint Helens. My bet is that the people in Alaska have about 100 times the reflexes, knowledge, instincts and pragmatism to anything coming out of Washington. Remember Obama's head of FEMA is from Florida where we had a volcanic eruption back when dinosaurs roamed. |
| Posted by: Jack is Back! 2009-03-23 13:39 |
| #1 A very big question is what will happen to the ice under the ash fall area. Will it drop the temperature, or will it darken the ice and make it more prone to melting? |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2009-03-23 13:36 |