The Big Wobble : With 11 actively erupting volcanoes and another 7 showing activity and 104 of the last 150 major quakes, (mag 6 or higher) in the same area in just over a year is the western bank of the Pacific Ring Of Fire anxiously waiting for the big-one?

Thursday 4 January 2024

With 11 actively erupting volcanoes and another 7 showing activity and 104 of the last 150 major quakes, (mag 6 or higher) in the same area in just over a year is the western bank of the Pacific Ring Of Fire anxiously waiting for the big-one?

Credit Wikipedia, Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki in East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. Stock picture.

More than 2,000 residents have been evacuated to temporary shelters amid heightened volcanic activities in a volcano in eastern Indonesia. Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki in East Nusa Tenggara province has erupted several times in recent weeks. A recent one was an eruption on Monday. It spewed volcanic ash 1.5 kilometres (4,800 feet) above its peak, according to the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG). The agency recorded another eruption from Lewotobi Laki-Laki on Tuesday. But ash clouds from the volcano were not observed, it said in a statement.

Last month, Mount Merapi, which means “mountain of fire”, on Sumatra island erupted and 23 people were killed. Indonesia has nearly 130 active volcanoes.

In early December the colossus Mount Merapi Volcano erupted, spewing white-and-grey ash plumes more than 3,000 meters (about 9,800 feet) into the air, and hot ash clouds blew several miles to the north, according to Indonesia’s Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center. Eventually, 23 hikers are known to have died. Six other volcanoes are highly active in the area, see the map below.

Credit Volcano Discovery.

The western bank of the Pacific Ring Of Fire has been intense during the last year, not only with volcano activity but seismic activity too—Of the 150 major quakes (mag 6 or higher) recorded since January 1st 2023, 103 of them have been on the western bank of the Pacific Ring Of Fire, see map below. . .