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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Montserrat Volcano Shoots Ash 5 Miles Up - Resulting In A Cooler Summer? |
| 2007-01-08 |
| The volcano that destroyed Montserrat's capital in 1997 shot a cloud of ash more than five miles into the sky on Monday, and one of the island's chief scientists said the blast was "a warning call." The government has advised about 50 families on the northwestern side of the volcano's base that their homes were at risk from flows of blistering gas and debris if the dome collapses. Gov. Deborah Barnes Jones said she would sign an evacuation order Monday making it illegal for people to remain in the area. The blast, accompanied by increased seismic rumbling, released gases and steam from inside a lava dome that has grown rapidly over the last week, said Dr. Vicky Hards, director of the Montserrat Volcano Observatory. "I think it was a warning call ... of what it can do," Hards said. The explosion around sunrise also sent a flow of volcanic material cascading two miles down the northwest flank, but did not immediately threaten any of the British Caribbean island's 5,000 inhabitants, Hards said. Sirens alerted people to listen to the radio for updates. "People in the affected area know who they are and should work urgently on packing up and arranging for alternative accommodations," Barnes Jones said in a radio address. Only "a handful" of residents were believed to still be living in the threatened area, said Mark Twigg, head of the governor's office. "This causes genuine hardship for people who have to leave, and this is taken lightly by nobody," he said. The volcano's latest burst of activity began on Dec. 24. Glowing streaks of red from the pyroclastic flows have created nighttime spectacles visible across much of the island. The volcano's rising dome remained in place after Monday's explosion, raising fears of a bigger event soon. The Soufriere Hills volcano became active in 1995, and more than half the territory's 12,000 inhabitants moved away. An eruption in 1997 buried much of the south, including the capital of Plymouth, and killed 19 people. Since then, the mountainous, teardrop-shaped island has gone on a building binge. A new city center is planned for Little Bay, the future capital, in northwest Montserrat. The island has a new airport to replace the one that was engulfed by lava flows and a 700-seat concert hall. A new parliament, courthouse and cricket field are planned. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #6 I love staying in Antigua. Their big 'Hot 97' type radio station uses a radio ID saying "Broadcasting Live from Antigua, Barbuda, and (cue deep 'Monster Truck' voice): MONTSERRAT. (cue Volcano Erupting sound-effect.) |
| Posted by: Free Radical 2007-01-08 23:58 |
| #5 Quite an ejaculation, methinks! |
| Posted by: borgboy 2007-01-08 21:24 |
| #4 BANANARAMA > Its a Cool, Cool Summer ...FEEL THE FORCE, LUKE. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2007-01-08 21:10 |
| #3 I blame AlGore's speaking tour |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-01-08 20:51 |
| #2 AlanC, yea, it is percolating somewhat more than usual. The bottom of oceans temp has risen about 1.5 deg C in average, in the past 15 years or so, compared to measurements before that spanning about 50 years. Why, nobody has a friggin idea. I'll speculate that for some reason the charge of electric currents that run through our solar system has been on the rise. We may be living, in the near future, in interesting times ("May you live in interesting times" is a Chinese curse ;-) ). |
| Posted by: twobyfour 2007-01-08 20:18 |
| #1 I blame Bush. Seriously, is anyone monitoring the tempreture of the deep ocean trenches / faults? There are two sources of heat for earth, that big yellow thingy in the sky, and a whole lot of hot metal in the middle. Any sign that the middle stuff is percolating out more than usual? |
| Posted by: AlanC 2007-01-08 17:07 |