Related Posts
Indonesian volcano Merapi erupts again, forcing more to evacuate and Singapore Airlines to cancel flights
Merapi, the Indonesian volcano on Java that has been eruption on and off since October 26th, has erupted...
Breaking: Merapi volcano in Indonesia erupts again
Java’s Merapi volcano in Indonesia erupted again today. The latest eruption is stronger than the eruption from last...
Merapi volcano erupts again
Last night the Merapi volcano on Java erupted again, killing at least 2. This brings the death toll...
Second volcano erupts on Java: Mount Bromo spewing hot ash
While the Merapi volcano on the Indonesian island of Java is still active, a second volcano – Mount...
Iceland Volcano Erupts After 200 Years of InactivityIceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupted on Saturday, forcing at least 500 people to evacuate. Most have returned home since,...
Tip of the Day
Go grocery shopping locally to help reduce your carbon footprint
Indonesian volcano erupts, 1000s evacuate
photo: US govt. geological survey
A volcano which has lain dormant for 400 years has erupted on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
The volcano, called Sinabung, erupted on Saturday and Sunday, sending a giant cloud of ash and smoke into the skies and causing thousands to evacuate their homes.
From an AFP report:
From the crater, it shot smoke and volcanic ash 1,500 metres (5,000 feet) into the sky. Initially we thought the ash and smoke were triggered by rain but now we know the driving pressure was from magma.
– Surono, head of Indonesia’s volcano disaster alert centre
There is currently a 6 km (3.7 mile) danger zone around the volcano, though some of the around 12,000 people who have fled live outside of the danger zone.
The area is covered in thick smoke and smells of sulfur, but conditions are reported to be improving.
From a Reuters report:
The health ministry put medical posts on standby and distributed face masks, though there were no reports of casualties, according to Mudjiarto, head of the health ministry’s crisis centre.
See this video report from Aljazeera English for more:
Thousands flee Indonesia volcano
Tags: ash, erupted, evacuate, Indonesia, Sinabung, smoke, Sumatra, volcano
Other Greenfudge.org posts
Friday the 13th: Facts, Phobias and Folklore
Do you suffer from Paraskevidekatriaphobia or Triskaidekaphobia? If you do, then you will certainly love today—or perhaps not. Paraskevidekatriaphobia is the fear of Friday the 13th and Triskaidekaphobia is the fear of the number 13, both of which occur today. Lucky you! The superstitious history of this day is almost as mixed up as some of the superstitions that come with it. It would seem no source can agree on when the good luck/bad luck concept came to be associated with...
Satellite and aerial images of Baltic algal bloom
Here are some pictures of the large bloom of blue-green algae currently covering 377,000 sq km of the Baltic Sea. The satellite picture comes from the European Space Agency (ESA) and the aerial photos are from the Swedish Coast Guard. Large carpets of algae create dead zones in marine environments and are a human health hazard because they spread cynanobacteria. Swimming in affected areas should therefore be avoided. From a BBC News report: This accelerated growth also reduces the amount of oxygen available...
Don’t forget: Vanishing honeybees
We depend on honeybees to pollinate some 70 crops. Due to a phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), honeybees, mainly in North America, are dying off at a shocking rate – 30% every year since 2006. In the US, bee die-offs have qualified some beekeepers for disaster relief from the Department of Agriculture. Though the exact cause, or causes, of CCD are murky – it has been attributed to parasites and satellite communication – the most obvious culprits are pesticides, specifically...
Fishy Research Leads to Sushi Fraud Discovery
Earlier this month it was reported that scientists were creating a special barcode system to help identify animals by DNA samples. Recently, a group of labs have been obtaining fish samples for their database, appropriately called “FISH-BOL”. The FISH-BOL database is currently 20% complete; however, the one drawback is scientists can’t seem to agree on how to condense the information from each fish into a specific signature or code. The purpose of having a fish database (or for any other species) is...
Breaking News: Italy Faces ‘Ecological Disaster’ from Oil Spill
Yesterday, an oil spill occurred in one of Italy’s small, northern rivers. Today, that spill reached the Po River. The cause of the spill is believed to be sabotage at a former refinery, now turned into an oil depot. Apparently, the cisterns of the depot were opened, thus allowing the oil to flow into the Lambro River, near Monza. Secchi officials estimate that 2.5 million liters (660,000 gallons) of oil were spilt. This is a concern for environmentalists, as the Po...
The promise of bike sharing to Reduce Emissions
Bike sharing sure has come a long way since the failed Yellow Bike Project of 1994 in Portland, Oregon. With the launchof New York City’s first system next spring coinciding with similar plans in other cities, it appears that bikes and bike stations may become as widespread and popular as they are in Canada and throughout Europe. The concept of designating a certain number of bikes for unrestricted use has many economical and environmental advantages. It should come as no surprise...
Hawaii may not be Paradise for the False Killer Whale
This week, the discovery of a new marine creature (the strawberry crab) was announced. However, with every silver lining there is always a dark cloud lurking close behind. Another marine creature, dubbed the False Killer Whale for it’s similarities to the orca, may be placed on the endangered species list. These “whales” are actually dolphins and the population under consideration lives near Hawaii. If the new listing happens, it could affect longline fishing done in the area, as the false killer...
Greenpeace occupies Arctic deep sea oil rig
Early this morning Greenpeace activists occupied a Cairn Energy exploratory oil rig in the Arctic Ocean off of the coast of Greenland. Four Greenpeace activists, who are also expert climbers, avoided Greenland police and the Danish navy to climb the rig and suspend themselves in tents. The activists’ behavior has caused a temporary shut down of Cairn Energy’s drilling efforts. From a report in the Telegraph: The campaigners, who are protesting against what they claim are the ''huge risks'' energy companies are taking...
Media coverage of Copenhagen: Climategate in the headlines
If so-called 'climate skeptics' think that the mainstream media is ignoring the story of the emails that were either leaked or hacked from the Climate Research Unit (CRU) of the University of East Anglia, then they are obviously not watching television news broadcasts or reading major publications. Climategate is everywhere. If the Copenhagen summit is mentioned, so naturally is the Climategate scandal. Amazing what the words 'trick' and 'hide the decline' can do amongst a sea of otherwise boring, presumably impenetrable...
UK: Mysterious seal deaths likely caused by ducted propeller
The 50 or so seals that have been found dead in England and Scotland, marked by strange corkscrew wounds, are thought to have been killed by boat propellers. Researchers examined bodies of 12 dead seals recently found in Norfolk, England and found that the seals were probably killed by a certain type of boat propeller called a ‘ducted propeller’. Ducted propellers have non-rotating nozzles and are encircled by a duct or passageway, which could trap the seals as it slices them...
View all articles
You can also log in to post a comment.