Uitbarsting vulkaan Copahue op grens van Chili en Argentinie

[HD] Volcano Copahue: New dramatic footage of Chile volcano Copahue eruption. 24/12/2012

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Red Alert status issued for Chilean volcano
Chilean authorities on Sunday issued a red alert -- the most severe in their warning system -- that the Copahue Volcano, high in the Andes mountains on the border with Argentina, might be poised for a significant eruption.

In a statement, Chile's Geological and Mining Service stressed that no mandatory evacuations have been ordered around the remote volcano, which lies about 280 kilometers southeast (175 miles) of Concepcion, though the closest roads to it are in Argentina.

Even though the seismic activity suggests a minor eruption, the agency decided to raise the alert level because it could not rule out a major eruption. The service warned specifically about potentially dangerous mudslides within a 15-kilometer (9.3-mile) radius of the crater.

Alto Biobio, a community about 60 kilometers (37 miles) east of Copahue, is under the heightened alert. The governor and emergency officials in Biobio province met Sunday afternoon to discuss possible scenarios, including establishing a plan in case a mass evacuation is deemed necessary.

Seismic stations first detected increased activity Saturday, according to the Volcano Observatory of the Southern Andes, which is part of Chile's Geological and Mining Service.

In addition, more gas than normal has been detected coming from the volcano. The black, ash-filled gas has soared as 1.5 kilometers (almost 1 mile) above Copahue and extended 13 kilometers (8 miles) out from it, toward the southeast.

Known in South America as Volcan Copahue, this volcano formed about 500,000 years ago and contains a string of nine craters in this stretch of the Andes, according to the Smithsonian's Global Volcanism Program. Its summit is just less than 3000 meters, or 9,830 feet, above sea level.

Mild to moderate eruptions have been recorded here since the 18th century, and some in the 20th century spewed volcanic rocks and chilled liquid sulfur fragments from its 300-meter wide crater lake, the Global Volcanism Program reports.

After at least three eruptions during the 1990s, Copahue's last significant eruption occurred from July to October 2000. That incident caused damage, mudslides and spurred evacuations.

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Vulkaan Chili staat op uitbarsten
De vulkaan Copahue op de grens van Chili en Argentinië staat op uitbarsten.

De Chileense overheid gebiedt 3000 mensen, in een straal van 25 kilometer om de vulkaan, om het gebied te verlaten, meldt persbureau AP.

"De evacuatie is verplicht, niet vrijwillig", benadrukt de Chileense minister van Binnenlandse Zaken en Veiligheid Andres Chadwick. De evacuatie wordt echter bemoeilijkt door hevige regenval.

De Argentijnse regering heeft een paar honderd mensen aangeraden om te evacueren.

De bijna 3000 meter hoge Copahue heeft in december al gas en as uitgespuwd. De laatste eruptie was in 2000.

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Copahue Moved to Red Alert Status

It might be a holiday in many parts of the world, but Chile’s Copahue isn’t taking a day off. The Chilean Geological Survey (SERNAGEOMIN) and civil authority (ONEMI) have moved the volcano to red alert status, which means an eruption is imminent or in progress. So far, from the details I can find, it is the former — an eruption is likely in the works in the hours to days timescale. The latest update from the SERNAGEOMIN says that over 250 small earthquakes related to magma movement are being recorded per hour at Copahue (although so far continuous volcanic tremor — an almost sure sign of eruption — has not been recorded). No plume has been spotted in the last day in satellite imagery and only a modest, ~400 meter steam-and-ash plume was seen from ground observations. However, the citizens of Caviahue in Argentina, just across the border from Copahue, have reported explosions and incandescence from the volcano.

The sense from these updates and the change in status is that the SERNAGEOMIN expects an explosive event, similar to what we saw in December 2012 from Copahue, in the very near future. Schools in towns near the volcano have closed due to the threat of an eruption. You can check out a hazard map of the volcano below, where the largest threats being lahars and lava flows moving down drainages up to 15 km from the crater, while a lesser threat of pyroclastic flows also exists. There is also the danger of ash fall, likely to the east, if an explosive eruption occurs.

The ONEMI has also raised the civil alert to Red, so preparations are underway for any potential evacuations for people within 25 km of the volcano (only ~2,240 on the Chilean side). It does seem that the SERNAGEOMIN webcam for Copahue is down again, so I don’t know of any webcams pointed at the volcano — but if you do, let us know in the comments.

Bron: Wired