MASS DISASTER

Volcano theory on plane crash

Did clouds of hot gas or ash cause the plane crash last weekend off the coast of Sicily where 13 were killed and 23 rescued.

A pilot flying in the same area at the time of the crash, identified only as BR, told the newspaper that planes had warned of the risk of volcanic clouds between 2100m and 3900m. A plane flying through a volcanic cloud would lose power in both its engines simultaneously, he said. Otherwise, there was more chance of being hit by lightning than to lose both engines.

The pilot said shortly before the plane went down he heard the Tunisian captain tell air traffic control: "I lost both engines."

... via The Australian.

Nicaragua warns of eruption of Concepcion Volcano

Via China View...

The 1,620-meter volcano, 120 km southeast of Managua, is one of the most active in Nicaragua and has had permanent, low-intensity activity with small seismic tremors, constantly releasing gases and creating small explosions in the crater.

... read the rest.

MEXICO: Volcano of Fire activity continues

The well known Colima Complex volcano follows up last month's activity by spitting out a three mile high ash plume...

The government was considering evacuating tiny communities around the 12,540-foot (3,860 meter) Colima volcano in the western state of the same name after the predawn eruption.

"It's the largest explosion in the past 15 years and we are monitoring it because the activity is increasing, though gradually," said federal civil protection coordinator Carmen Segura. "If necessary we will do evacuations."

... via Alert Net.org.

ABC of conflict and disasters

Anthony D Redmond pens an informative article detailing natural disasters from a medical/rescue standpoint. Read and be prepared.

Concerning the rescue timeline after earthquakes he writes...

Most successful rescues take place within the first 24 hours. Most lives are saved by the immediate actions of survivors. Local authorities implement the second phase, when a more coordinated response is established with local rescue teams joining the survivors. In the third phase more intensive and focused efforts are supplemented with extra help from other areas. The fourth and final phase involves the provision of specialist aid for rescuing people deeply entrapped.

... via British Medical Journal.com.

Researchers Discover Underwater Volcano

Nafanua is a fascinating scientific discovery. Hopefully its early detection will help to mediate any future danger ...

Within decades, continued growth of Nafanua could bring the summit of this volcano from its current depth of 600 meters to a depth of approximately 200 meters-close enough to the sea surface that it could provide a potential hazard to ocean navigation and coastal communities. Such hazards may include the explosive reaction between red-hot lava and seawater, or tsunamis that may be caused by the collapse of the newly built volcano.

... via Science Daily.

UPDATE:

... here is a computer generated topographic model of what it looks like.

MEXICO: "Volcano of Fire" Erupts

Luckily the area affected by the eruption is unihabited.

"It was the strongest explosion we have seen since 1991," said Tonatiuh Dominguez, a seismologist at the volcano observation station run by the University of Colima.

"This was a cloud of burning material that traveled down the slope at basically ground level," Dominguez said, warning that the peak" is still in an explosive stage."

Individual chunks of rock were blown as far as 4km to the west, while the pyroclastic flow mainly streamed down the eastern flanks, according to a statement by the observation station.

Vulcanologists consider the Colima volcano to be one of the most active and potentially the most destructive of the volcanoes in Mexico.

It has erupted violently dozens of times since its first recorded eruption in 1560.

... via the Taipei Times.

COLUMBIA: Galeras Evacuations Begin

The evacuation of 9000 Columbians who live in the immediate area of the Galeras volcano has begun ...

The government will pay evacuees about $40 a month to help with renting temporary accommodation. But some peasants have told local television they do not believe the warnings and will refuse to leave their smallholdings.

... via AlertNet.

COLUMBIA: Volcano Alert

Fresh data suggests that Galeras is set to erupt...

In 1993, nine were killed during an eruption. Five of the casualties were international scientists who were inside the crater sampling gases

... via All Headline News.

USA: Mount St. Helens Timeline

A short timeline of events since 1979 on the volcano can be found here.

USA: Mount Rainier - The Worlds Most Dangerous Volcano?

It's just a matter of time until it erupts and when it does it is within striking distance of millions of Washington State inhabitants. So how do you prepare for the boiling hot rivers of mud that will flow off the mountain following the eruption?

... At least 100,000 people live on top of Rainier mudflows that have solidified.

Mudflow poses a serious threat for Orting. Two rivers drain off the mountain, hug the town and converge just beyond it, putting Orting squarely in the mountain's strike zone. The town, in fact, was built atop a 500-year-old mudflow that buried the valley 30 feet deep.

Construction crews working on new housing developments for Orting's growing population have dug up massive tree stumps _ remnants of a forest buried there the last time Mount Rainier rumbled.

... via the Washington Post.