This is the second volcanic eruption I've got to bear witness too in my lifetime...

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/742...-over-100-years
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Volcanic activity at Mt Tongariro could continue for weeks, months or even years after Tongariro rumbled to life after being dormant for more than 100 years last night.

Last night's eruption was a total surprise, so "we have to expect the unexpected", GNS volcanologist Michael Rosenberg said.

The mountain erupted at 11.50pm, sending ash across roads and prompting a potential threat warning for central North Island regions.

The eruption threw rocks and spewed ash from the Te Mari craters, near Ketetahi hot springs, on the northern side of the mountain, GNS Science said.

WITNESS ACCOUNTS

Truck driver Tama Coker was heading across the Desert Road while the eruption was happening and said the noise was like a train.

"There was a big flash," he said.

"I thought it was lightning and then it started raining sand. It was pretty thick. I heard it rumbling like a train."

Coker said that when he drove through the Desert Road he could not see the white lines on the road.

"I could just see the yellow glare on the mountain. I only had visibility of about 10 to 15 feet in front of me. It was a bit scary.

"It's something I'll probably never see again in my lifetime."

He said the sand-like ash had covered his truck, and the sign writing on the trailer was barely visible.

Local resident David Bennett who lives on the southern shores of Lake Rotoaira, about 6km away from the eruption, said he heard and saw the mountain erupt just before midnight last night.

He considered himself fortunate no rocks landed on his house last night.

"There were rocks being thrown out. It was like thunder and lightning and fireworks," Bennett said.

There was a lot of ash on State Highway 46 this morning - the roadway linking the Desert Road with the Whakapapa Ski Field.

"It was spectacular. There were rumbling sounds and thunder and lightning coming out from the base of the eruption," Bennett said.

There were no cars in the Tongariro Crossing Carpark when he visited the area this morning, Bennett said.

He said there were about 12 houses on the southern shores of Lake Rotoaira and when the mountain erupted locals made sure all the residents living in the area were safe.

His house is situated about five kilometres away from the roadway leading to the northern end of the Tongariro Crossing.

A few locals did drive to the Hirangi Marae in Turangi but most just stood and watched the spectacular show.

"It's a volcano. If it goes. It will go. We'll all be vapourised. Ruapehu and Ngauruhoe have erupted regularly over the years. Now it is Tongariro's turn."

Bennett understood nobody overnighted at the Ketetahi Hut at the northern end of the Tongariro Crossing last night and that the Ketetahi Springs area had not been affected by the eruption.

He also understood a new vent had opened up near the Te Maari Crater area on Mount Tongariro.
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Bennett's wife Robyn said there was thick ash on State Highway 46, 400 metres from their house.

"I can't see the white lines."

She had not been able to sleep last night following the spectacular eruption.

"It looked like a huge mushroom cloud. There's a very strong sulphur smell in the air and it was very hard to breathe last night."

Robyn Bennett said she and her husband could still hear the mountain rumbling from their home this morning.

"The ash plume is rolling down the side of the mountain. I feel safe and I am not leaving."

Robyn Bennett said if the mountain did blow "our house will be in the middle of it. The lava flow will come down the valley towards us."

She could see three new vents from her home.

"They each look to be the size of the Ketetahi Springs."

Meanwhile Tongariro Holiday Park co-owner, Kerry Wakelin, whose business is situated at the junction of State Highways 46 and 47 in the north-western end of the Tongariro National Park, said she took her dogs for a walk about 11.50pm last night.

"I saw flashes and lightning and a big black cloud. I thought it was a big storm," Wakelin said.

She had worked at the Whakapapa Ski Field during the major eruptions on Mt Ruapehu in the mid-1990s.

"When Ruapehu blew back then I had my bags packed and was freaking out. Last night I went to bed and had a good night's sleep," Wakelin said.

She reported feeling small earthquakes in the area during the past two days.

"The latest eruption is like a big old giant who has woken up, farted, rolled over and gone back to sleep," Wakelin said.

A receptionist at the Chateau Tongariro, Maria Dadal, said there was no ash on the Whakapapa Skifield Road this morning and both the Whakapapa and Turoa skifields would open on schedule this morning.

The manager of the Chateau Tongariro, Tony Abbott, said there were about 100 skier guests at the hotel last night.

"It's business as usual here," Abbott said.

CENTRAL NORTH ISLAND WARNING

Civil Defence said volcanic activity could pose a threat to Waikato, Hawke's Bay, Gisborne, Manawatu-Whanganui, Bay of Plenty and Taranaki.

People living in those areas were advised to stay indoors with all the windows and doors closed and listen to the radio for updated emergency information and instructions.

It was the first eruption to happen on the mountain in more than 100 years, but if past trends are anything to go by, it could be the first of many more to follow, Rosenberg said.

Eruptions happened intermittently from 1855 through to 1897, and it could not be ruled out that this was the start of a prolonged period of activity in the area, Rosenberg said.

"We have to expect the unexpected. We really can't predict what this will lead to," Rosenberg said.

"This has taken us by surprise. It's gone from some little earthquakes that seemed to be tailing off, then all of a sudden this has gone boom.

"We really didn't expect that there would be an eruption apparently out of nowhere."

Teams from GNS would be assessing the volcano by air today and would be gathering samples of ash and rock. If they do not contain magma, then it is indicative that magma has not broken the surface, and may soon do so, Rosenberg said.

Prime Minister John Key was being updated on the eruption by Civil Defence and other Government sources.

He described the volcanic activity as moderate but said Tongariro would continue to be closely monitored.

If the situation required evacuations or an emergency response, Civil Defence would take responsibility of all emergency services.

"At this stage it is very much monitoring," he told TV3's Firstline programme.

The Corrections Department said prisoners at the Tongaririo-Rangipo Prison were not in any immediate danger.

ROADS AFFECTED

The Desert Road section of State Highway 1 had reopened about 8am after earlier being closed. State Highway 46, to the north of the mountain, had reopened at 8.45am.

Motorists were being advised to avoid travel in the area. The road closures would be reassessed at daylight.

Light ash had been reported as falling on SH1 and SH46 and as far as SH5, near Te Haroto and onto Napier city.

An incident management centre had been set up at Whakapapa DOC visitor centre, and local council, police and Department of Conservation were meeting in Taupo this morning.

There had been no further volcanic activity reported since last night.

Civil Defence has not activated the National Crises Management Centre.

Inspector Ian Harris, of police central communications, said search and rescue teams would be sent up the mountain at dawn to check that no one had been stranded in huts.

There had been no reports of injuries or damage because of the eruption and no evacuation notices had been issued, he said.

Rosenberg said some people in the Lake Rotoaira area had self-evacuated following the eruption.

There had been reports of "red hot rocks being thrown out of the crater", several loud explosions and lightning when the eruption occurred and ash had fallen 5cm deep on SH46, he said.

The eruption had been "really unexpected".

"You can measure and monitor but sometimes mother nature will do her own thing."

FLIGHTS AFFECTED

Civil aviation director of meteorology Peter Lechner said the eruption would affect regional flights.

"We expect it to move further eastward - perhaps still affecting parts of northern Hawke's Bay just after lunch and it should clear the east coast altogether by early this evening," he told Radio New Zealand.

He expected there would be some disruption to flights into East Coast airports such as Gisborne and Napier up until midday.

Hawke's Bay airport was closed until further notice, according to tweet from MP Craig Foss.

Airlines would need to decide whether they would continue flying in and out of that area, Lechner said.

"It's up to them to stay clear of the ash. If they can find a clear way through that's fine."

Flights overhead, such as from Auckland to Wellington, would not be affected. Those flights were usually at about 30,000 to 35,000 feet while the ash plume was about 20,000 feet, Lechner said.

If the weather patterns continue, the ash could be pushed out to sea by about 6pm tonight, Lechner said.

"As long as there are no further eruptions, that's a good thing."

There were five reported eruptions from the Te Mari craters between 1855 and 1897 but they had been dormant until now, the GeoNet website said.

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I hope Ranier pops its cork in my lifetime. In a big, big way. The whole bloody "Ring of Fire" seems to be heating up. I guess "global warming" gets the blame for that as well.

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Ranier would be awesome! Just so long as my cousin had time to scoot the area.... Too bad Seattle is in its path, I like that burg.

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Are you sure it wasn't Muffy?

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The article says there was ash raining down, not ass.

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An ass volcano doesn't sound very fun.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Rokkr
Are you sure it wasn't Muffy?

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"The latest eruption is like a big old giant who has woken up, farted, rolled over and gone back to sleep," Wakelin said.

Nice

Am I the only one secretly hoping that the who place goes in big boom ( well without our forum members there of course)? Along with all the local people saying, "Oh I'm not scared, just a bit of ash and rock thrown in with some earthquakes." meeting their end watching their bodies slowly melt from magma (hey I like movies) or choking and burning to death slowly if they survive watching the pyroclastic flow come rapidly down the hill towards them. With their last thoughts being "Heck, maybe we should have GTFO after all." Sorry. I feel like being dramatic tonight. First rumble I would screaming like a scared little girl (which I would be). Even though they haven't called for evacuation my ass would be gone. Safety First! Also I have no sorrow for the folks that refuse to evacuate only to die regreting it. I don't care how long you've lived there or how broke you are, I will fucking hoof it with my shit in a garbage bag if need be. Your stuff can always be replaced. I'd rather not end up as one of charred or bloated corpses in a Creepy Uncle post.

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I'd rather Japan, AK, WA,or OR had a biggish boom first, Kiwis are nice and don't deserve a big assed disaster like that, besides, there's not that many of us. Isn't Vesuvius ready for a good one yet? They're still dumb enough to have over 3 million people at its base.. (NZ has a population of 4.5 mil + one Idahoan)

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Hey! I think I should be offended here, by someone, or something. But Crika is home, so I'm just going to smile and hopefully get laid tonight.

Carry on.

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Yellowstone or bust.

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I'd like to have H. G. Well's staff, from Warehouse 13. I could really have some fun.

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I'd like to have H.G. Wells from Warehouse 13. I'd have even more fun.

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http://www.stuff.co.nz/science/7453...in-Mt-Tongariro

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The article says there was ash raining down

Last edited by nikkoo on 08-13-2012 at 10:08 PM

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Thank you for editing. I was about to do so. Spam links and spam sig's are not acceptable. Your posts are welcome.

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