Volcanic activity

Citation

(1999), "Volcanic activity", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 8 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/dpm.1999.07308bac.003

Volcanic activity

Volcanic activity

5 May 1998 ­ San Jose, Costa Rica

Costa Rica's Arenal volcano erupted today, spewing out lava and forcing the evacuation of two nearby villages, officials said. A powerful explosion shook the volcano, some 100 miles north-west of San Jose, at 1300, local time (1900, UTC), sending a column of hot ash and gas into the air, the officials said. No one was injured by the blast. "The volcano produced an eruption greater than normal, with lava coming down the north face," Sandra Salazar, a spokeswoman for Costa Rica's National Emergency Commission, said. Officials put the area on red alert, evacuating the hamlets of Tabacon and El Castillo and banning tourists from visiting the volcano. Salazar said geologists from Costa Rica's Volcanologic and Seismologic Observatory were flying over the area to check the volcano. Geologists fear the eruption may have opened a fissure on the north side of the volcano which is allowing lava to escape.

6 May 1998 ­ Costa Rica's Arenal volcano was quiet today in the aftermath of a major eruption which forced the evacuation of 450 people, including about 70 tourists, from nearby resorts, officials said. Costa Rica's National Emergency Commission lifted the state of maximum alert it declared after the eruption yesterday, but said people would still not be allowed to climb the volcano. Arenal was now quiet and had not registered any significant activity overnight, said commission spokesman Jorge Rojas. Eyewitnesses said lava had spewed from what looked like a fissure in the side of the 5373-foot mountain about 100 miles north-west of San lose. The Tabacon resort at the foot of the volcano, which boasts thermal pools and streams heated by underground lava flows, was empty today after all its guests were evacuated. Geologists said the greatest danger was posed by the suffocating cloud of gases which accompanies eruptions. The cloud can reach 5,432 deg Fahrenheit, instantly turning everything in its path to ash. One of Costa Rica's largest dams sits on a lake near the southern part of the volcano, providing the capital with most of its electricity. Officials said it was unaffected.