12/3/23

By Aditi Jha

The Marapi volcano in the province of West Sumatra, Indonesia, erupted on Sunday, causing hot ash clouds to gather miles away and covering several villages with falling ash, blocking the sun in many areas. Around 1,400 people live near Marapi, and the nearest villages are 3.1-3.7 miles from its peak. Indonesia's National Agency for Disaster Countermeasure said that the eruption started a little before 3 p.m. and the volcanic ash rain "made the atmosphere in Nagari Lasi very thick and dark." Smoke shot almost 10,000 feet into the air and several of the 70 people who were climbing the volcano are still awaiting rescue. The community in the area were given masks to wear because of health concerns, and so far 28 climbers have been evacuated. Ahmad Rifandi, an official with Indonesia's Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center at the Marapi monitoring post, told USA Today that there is no report of casualties. There are over 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia because of its position on the "Ring of Fire", fault lines around the Pacific Basin. Marapi erupted once in January as well. The Fagradalsfjall volcano in Iceland is also expected to erupt, especially after lots of seismic activity in November. The town of Grindavik, which has a population of 3,400, has been evacuated due to the hundreds of small earthquakes that the area has experienced and the 9-mile active magma river under the peninsula. Earthquakes are an important indicator of volcanic activity. 33 of Iceland's 130 volcanoes are active, and there have been 3 eruptions since 2021. Indonesia and Iceland aren't the only countries experiencing unusual seismic activity; a powerful earthquake in the southern Philippines that occurred Saturday night killed at least one villager, injured several other people, and damaged infrastructure. A disaster official reported that a wall collapsed on a woman as her family tried to evacuate to safety in the province of Davao del Norte. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center had initially expected a tsunami and put out a warning, causing thousands to evacuate their homes, with the traffic blocking access to higher grounds. The Center had predicted waves up to 10 feet above the typical tide level. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said in a statement that "the tsunami threat associated with this earthquake has now largely passed the Philippines." The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.6 and caused over 600 aftershocks, one with a magnitude of 6.5. The U.S. Geological Survey recorded other earthquakes on Sunday with 6.6 and 6.9 magnitudes. The quake affected the provinces of Surigao Del Sur and Davao Oriental, also causing evacuations in Japan. The Philippines is also on the "Ring of Fire" and is prone to earthquakes. 

That's the news for today! Stay safe!