2019 Dec 09 Whakaari (White Island) Eruption - New Zealand

[CJSF]

The active volcano Whakaari (White Island) explosively erupted on December 9, 2019 with tourists around the crater and lake. Although signs of an impending eruption were increasing through the preceding weeks, tours of the island continued and 47 people were around the crater when the eruption occurred, killing perhaps 16 people (and with some missing and some with critical injuries). Updates are continuing.

While the recovery operations continue, the live updates for the monitoring of the volcano have been suspended, but expect them at this link:
https://www.geonet.org.nz/volcano/mo...ng/whiteisland


Further information about Whakaari:
https://www.gns.cri.nz/Home/Learning...i-White-Island


The news reports are quite grim, and while it might be easy to criticize those that were on the island for making a poor choice, from what I've read there were no signs of an imminent eruption, so take that as you will.

CJSF

[boppa]

Indeed, it had been quiet since the end of October, where there was one day with a significant number of quakes, but it had seemed to settle back down again afterwards- in fact I am not sure if this even counts as an actual eruption, there wasn't any recorded earthquakes recorded on the day???
Maybe more of a volcanic 'burp' than an eruption?
(condolences for those killed and injured, not making light of the situation in any way)

(table from https://www.geonet.org.nz/volcano/eqstats/whiteisland)

[Selfsim]

Phreatic eruption - steam and gas causing explosion. The deaths and injuries were due to direct exposure to heat and inhalation of toxic gases .. just awful .. terrible consequences for all those involved and their families.

Commercial interests seem to have been at play:

Although privately owned, Whakaari/White Island became a private scenic reserve in 1953, and daily tours allow more than 10,000 people to visit the volcano every year.

Whakaari/White Island

It is New Zealand's most active cone volcano, and has been built up by continuous volcanic activity over the past 150,000 years
...
Whakaari erupted continually from December 1975 until September 2000, marking the world's longest historic eruption episode, according to GeoNet, and also in 2012, 2016, and 2019.

[publiusr]

An update
https://www.geonet.org.nz/news/6kjmVVIkvsY59Nf1XrHIzm
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...were-recovered
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_W...sland_eruption

[Selfsim]

An update
https://www.geonet.org.nz/news/6kjmVVIkvsY59Nf1XrHIzm

Expert judgement this morning is that there is a 35-50% chance (medium likelihood) of an eruption occurring that could impact outside of the vent area within the next 24 hours. This has decreased somewhat compared to yesterday.

'Expert judgement', eh?

[Roger E. Moore]

New Zealand files charges against tour operators in White Island explosion.

https://www.npr.org/2020/11/30/94009...island-volcano

[publiusr]

It only took a year...

[Trebuchet]

It only took a year...

Which is two years less than it took to get the first charges in the Grenfell Tower fire.