Dec 18, 2012

Mount Lokon Volcano Erupts 800 Times Since July

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December 18, 2012INDONESIA - Mount Lokon, which has erupted 800 times since July, spewed hot lava and volcanic ash as high as 10,000 feet on Monday, according to an Indonesian government official. The volcano has been one of the most active in Indonesia. A 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck off the Sulawesi shoreline prior to the eruption. Mount Lokon, together with Mount Empung, is a twin volcano in the northern Sulawesi, Indonesia, roughly 10 km south of Manado. Both rise above the Tondano plain and are among active volcanoes of Sulawesi. Mount Lokon has a flat and craterless top. Mount Lokon has shown an increase in volcanic activity since early December. The Lokon and Mahawu monitoring station recorded eruptions on Dec. 3, Dec. 5 and Dec. 8, spouting volcanic dust up to 3,500 meters into the sky. –Reuters, Jakarta Post
 

Ecuador declares volcano alert, as eruption from Tungurahua grows more violent

December 17, 2012ECUADOR - Ecuador has issued an orange alert — the second-highest warning level — for towns near the Tungurahua volcano, as its level of activity rose, civil defense officials say. The area of the warning covers the adjacent provinces of Tungurahua and Chimborazo, according to the national civil defense agency. Greater activity has been building since Wednesday, along with a slight increase in gas emissions from the 5,029-metre volcano, located about 135km south of the capital Quito, the Geophysical Institute said. Eruptions at Tungurahua, which means “Throat of Fire” in the indigenous Quechua language, peaked in 2006, killing six people in a Chimborazo village. Several communities near Tungurahua, including the tourist town of Banos with 15,000 people, also were forced to evacuate during the volcano’s violent eruption in 1999. Residents could only return to their homes a year later. –The Australian