Earth changes

With thanks to the Extinction Protocol.

Mexico’s Colima volcano goes ballistic after weeks of relative calm

November 20, 2013 – MEXICO – On Monday night and Tuesday morning, the Colima volcano showed two strong exhalations; ejecting lava down its slopes and ash skyward, that has reached several villages. Since last Sunday, the Volcan de Fuego de Colima was reactivated after several weeks of apparent calm and until Tuesday registered between 30 and 35 puffs per day, spewing lava down its slopes and ash that reached the people of Cheese, municipality of Cuauhtémoc, Colima, and some towns in the state of Jalisco. Yesterday at 21:45 hours this morning between 8:00 and 8:30 am, the volcano emitted two strong exhalations heard that reached in the communities closest to the “granite colossus,” mainly in the municipalities of Comala and Cuauhtémoc. From the city of Colima there was a big cloud of steam that rose to just over 2 miles. The chief operating officer of the State System of Civil Protection, Melchor Ursua Quiroz, said: “The volcano has been recharged” and in the last two days has been sharp exhalations, which triggered an alert status from monitoring equipment installed before this new volcanic activity. 

Ursua said that the exhalations Quiroz registered so far, between 30 and 35, are water vapor, once in the mountainous area of the state, bordering Jalisco north, there has been heavy rainfall. He said those exhalations were accompanied by light columns of lava that caused lahars (ash, volcanic stone, mud and water) on the slopes of the volcano, which have been deposited in the canyons and streams of the Cordobán and the Hearth, “the latter was saturated volcanic material and will need to get heavy machinery for cleaning and desludging.” He also said that there is “a warning to the population,” which does not mean that there is intention evacuations, as this alert is intended only for people to be on the lookout for information on the conditions under which the colossus. The Colima Volcano is currently one of the busiest in the country and is the most monitored, however much of its equipment is damaged or it has been stolen and require replacement. –El Universal(translated)

Increased activity reported at volcanoes in Guatemala and Vanuatu

November 20, 2013 – GUATEMALA – Two lava flows are active on the upper slopes of the volcano at the moment, to the Taniluya (south) and Ceniza canyon (SE). The effusive activity started on 11 Nov and increased on 18 November, reaching a length of 600 m. Constant avalanches detach from the flow fronts. At the same time, explosive activity at the summit crater remained at low to moderate levels, with strombolian explosions that produce ash plumes of up to 800 m height and incandescent jets visible from distance. Some of the explosions generate shock waves that can be felt and heard in up to 15 km distance, causing roofs, doors and windows of houses to rattle. Fine ash fall occurred in Panimaché, Morelia abd Sangre de Cristo. -Volcano Discovery

Weak explosions at Yasur: Geohazards reports that the volcano continues to produce near-continuous ash emissions while explosions are relatively weak at the Yasur volcano on Vanuatu. This phase of ash emissions began on 3 November and are likely to continue into the coming days and weeks. Yasur Alert Level is still maintained at Level 1. Villages and communities located close and far away from the volcano, especially those in the prevailing trade winds direction (NW) are likely to receive ash falls. –Volcano Discovery

Tower of ash overshadows life beneath Indonesia’s erupting volcano

November 20, 2013 – INDONESIA – The 8-kilometre-high ash cloud from Mount Sinabung dwarfs this villager in the north of the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, on Monday. The volcano rumbled back to life in 2010 after lying dormant for hundreds of years. More than 6000 local people have been evacuated to temporary shelters – some had yet to return home following an eruption earlier this month. Two thousand, five hundred kilometers away on Java, another Indonesian volcano also exploded into activity yesterday. Mount Merapi killed hundreds of people when it last erupted in 2010. –New Scientist

Italy’s Mt. Etna spews fire in dramatic night time eruption

November 20, 2013 – SICILY, ITALY – Mount Etna, the most active volcano in Europe, put on a spectacular show Saturday night and into Sunday. A massive eruption from Etna lit up the night sky over the island of Sicily. The Sicilian mountain spewed ash and lava, lighting up the Italian sky and disrupting flights at Catania airport. While Etna is known for regular activity, its last major eruption was in 1992, when streams of lava oozed down the sides of the mountain. Diversion efforts were able to save nearly all of the town of Zafferana. The volcano has been tormenting its neighbors since 1500 BCE, when the first records of eruptions show people forced to flee. More than 200 eruptions have been documented since, with the most powerful being in 1669, when lava flows stretched more than 10 miles, and the longest eruption was in 1979, which went on for 13 years. -VOR