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Demovictory9

(32,324 posts)
Mon Dec 9, 2019, 10:39 PM Dec 2019

Eleven minutes before the eruption, some of the tourists on White Island are seen walking on the rim

2.00pm: Eleven minutes before the eruption, some of the tourists on White Island are seen walking on the rim of the crater



https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7772591/White-Island-volcano-New-Zealands-eruption-leaves-dozens-Australians-feared-missing.html

there were warning signs it was going to erupt


'It showed increased activity for the last few weeks and so we raised the alert level,' GeoNet Project Director Dr Ken Gledhill told a press conference on Monday afternoon.

'It has quietened down, but we can't be certain there won't be another eruption in the next 24 hours.'

Dr Ken Gledhill said it wasn't a 'particularly big eruption' and likened it to the volcano 'clearing its throat'.

'That's why material probably won't make it to mainland New Zealand. It went up about 12,000 feet [3657 metres] into the sky,' he said.

'On the scheme of things for volcanic eruptions, it's not that large. But if you are close to that it is not good.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7771185/The-terrifying-warning-signs-New-Zealands-White-Island-volcano-erupt.html

19 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Eleven minutes before the eruption, some of the tourists on White Island are seen walking on the rim (Original Post) Demovictory9 Dec 2019 OP
I heard on the news this afternoon that no tourists should have been allowed there Rhiannon12866 Dec 2019 #1
Eerily similar to the Mt. St. Helens eruption of May 18,1980.. Permanut Dec 2019 #2
These tourists were deep inside the crater LeftInTX Dec 2019 #10
Looks to be about 18 hikers or so? Maru Kitteh Dec 2019 #3
NFW anyone get me on eon old dormant one!! benld74 Dec 2019 #4
Tourists on sightseeing boat film clouds of ash and smoke soaring into the sky DesertRat Dec 2019 #5
An impressive spectacle of nature's power... but horrifying too. NurseJackie Dec 2019 #12
The only active volcanoes I've been in is... Xolodno Dec 2019 #6
There's geothermic activity around Lassen Retrograde Dec 2019 #17
What happened to those people is awful, but... LudwigPastorius Dec 2019 #7
I don't understand the need to get up and close with everything. why not enjoy the volcano Demovictory9 Dec 2019 #8
Even vulcanologists would only study it from a distance. They wouldn't set foot in the island tblue37 Dec 2019 #9
Taking tourists to an active volcano is like playing musical chairs HAB911 Dec 2019 #11
I bet the families sue the cruiseline Demovictory9 Dec 2019 #13
Natural selection at work. roamer65 Dec 2019 #14
Wow, how kind of you. Nt USALiberal Dec 2019 #15
If you go THAT close to an active volcano, I have zero sympathy. roamer65 Dec 2019 #16
Most likely these tourists assumed it was safe. Tipperary Dec 2019 #18
This message was self-deleted by its author 912gdm Dec 2019 #19

Rhiannon12866

(203,041 posts)
1. I heard on the news this afternoon that no tourists should have been allowed there
Mon Dec 9, 2019, 11:50 PM
Dec 2019

Considering what was known to be happening with the volcano.

Permanut

(5,439 posts)
2. Eerily similar to the Mt. St. Helens eruption of May 18,1980..
Tue Dec 10, 2019, 12:04 AM
Dec 2019

57 people died that day after being warned that the mountain could erupt at any time. All were inside the "Red Zone" considered especially dangerous. About the same size mountain.

LeftInTX

(24,560 posts)
10. These tourists were deep inside the crater
Tue Dec 10, 2019, 03:43 AM
Dec 2019

This was a very small eruption and tourists should not have been there.

NurseJackie

(42,862 posts)
12. An impressive spectacle of nature's power... but horrifying too.
Tue Dec 10, 2019, 09:47 AM
Dec 2019

An impressive spectacle of nature's power... but horrifying too.

I wonder if they were able to outrun it?

Xolodno

(6,341 posts)
6. The only active volcanoes I've been in is...
Tue Dec 10, 2019, 01:28 AM
Dec 2019

...Yellowstone and Vesuvius. And if Yellowstone goes off, then were all fucked and doesn't matter where you are.

I've been to plenty of dormant and extinct volcanoes; Shasta, Hood, Crater Lake, Haleakala, St. Helens, Mammoth, and Craters of the Moon. Hoping to hit Lassen next year.

If there were warning signs, then it should have been closed off. Even a small eruption can incinerate people too close to it. Loss of tourist dollars pails in comparison to the loss of life. And if you are a psychopath, then the loss of immediate tourist dollars pails in comparison to future tourist dollars once the volcano settles down.

Retrograde

(10,073 posts)
17. There's geothermic activity around Lassen
Wed Dec 11, 2019, 02:41 AM
Dec 2019

and it last erupted a paltry hundred years ago: I'd hardly consider it extinct, or even very dormant. St. Helens went from dormant to exploding in a very short time, less than a year IIRC. There are some petroglyphs at the Modoc Lava Beds that may depict Shasta or some other nearby peak exploding. There are miles and miles of lava flows in Oregon considered less than a thousand years old. And millions of people live near the Cascade peaks. They may be dormant, but I wouldn't call them extinct.

Kiluaea on Hawai'i is currently erupting: there are tens of thousands of people living on its slopes.

LudwigPastorius

(8,944 posts)
7. What happened to those people is awful, but...
Tue Dec 10, 2019, 01:33 AM
Dec 2019

they were hiking on the rim of an active volcano.

Maybe it's just me, but even if I was assured by a tour guide that I'd probably be fine, I would consider such a move foolhardy. Lava/superheated steam/and ash is not a thing that I ever need to see up close in my lifetime.

Demovictory9

(32,324 posts)
8. I don't understand the need to get up and close with everything. why not enjoy the volcano
Tue Dec 10, 2019, 01:52 AM
Dec 2019

from a distance?

tblue37

(64,982 posts)
9. Even vulcanologists would only study it from a distance. They wouldn't set foot in the island
Tue Dec 10, 2019, 02:45 AM
Dec 2019

because they considered it much too dangerous.

roamer65

(36,739 posts)
16. If you go THAT close to an active volcano, I have zero sympathy.
Wed Dec 11, 2019, 12:59 AM
Dec 2019

Zero.

If you value your life, you shouldn’t be there...period. Utter stupidity.

 

Tipperary

(6,930 posts)
18. Most likely these tourists assumed it was safe.
Wed Dec 11, 2019, 02:56 AM
Dec 2019

Regular tours there would lead one to believe that. I agree with the other poster who responded to you.

Response to roamer65 (Reply #16)

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