| Submit your comments on this article |
| -Signs, Portents, and the Weather- |
| Chaos in US [AK] as residents frantically prepare for massive volcano eruption... with even pets given gas masks |
| 2025-04-11 |
| [Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Residents in Alaska's largest city are bracing for a looming volcano eruption that scientists have warned could happen in a few weeks. Mount Spurr, an 11,000-foot-tall volcano, sits just 81 miles from Anchorage, which is home to nearly 300,000 people. When it blows, the event 'would be explosive,' Matt Haney, scientist-in-charge at the AVO previously told DailyMail.com, adding that it would spew multiple plumes of ash rising as high as 50,000 feet into the air. Each ash-producing explosive episode would last three to four hours, resulting in Anchorage and other nearby communities being engulfed in a giant cloud. Volcanic ash can irritate the eyes, nose and throat, and cause more serious health issues for people with asthma, other forms of lung disease and severe heart problems, according to the International Volcanic Health Hazard Network (IVHHN). Residents have stocked up on N9-5 masks, latex gloves and jugs of water to prepare for the layers of ash, along with protective goggles, gas masks and booties for their dogs. Over the last year, Mount Spurr has been experiencing increased seismic activity, ground-surface displacement and gas emissions, all of which are signs of an impending eruption. Seismic activity near Mount Spurr kicked off in April 2024, and in October, the rate of quakes increased from an average of 30 per week to 125 per week. In a Tuesday update, experts at the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) wrote: 'Unrest continues at Mount Spurr volcano. Seismicity remains elevated with occasional small, shallow volcanic earthquakes detected beneath the volcano over the past day.' 'AVO continues monitoring activity at Mount Spurr for signals indicating that the volcano is moving closer to an eruption.' Since the beginning of the month, the US Geological Survey (USGS) has detected hundreds of small tremors within a 30-mile radius of the volcano. On April 2, a larger magnitude 3.7 quake struck near Petersville at 11:44am, about 30 miles north-west of Mount Spurr. This quake hit 65 miles below the surface — an earthquake depth that would typically be associated with tectonic plate movement. |
| Posted by:Skidmark |