Kadovar Volcano

A dormant volcano that first began erupting on January 5 exploded on Friday, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of people from the Kadovar island in Papua New Guinea.

At least 1,500 residents had been evacuated on Sunday and were brought to the Papuan mainland, about 15 miles from the Kadovar island. They were provided with around 87,000 kina ($26,274) in funding to help them, the agency told Reuters.

Additional financial help to supply the evacuees with basic goods and accommodation was pledged from Australia. The Australian government is contributing 25,000 Australian dollars (nearly $20,000) in humanitarian supplies to Papua New Guinea, Australian foreign minister Julie Bishop wrote in a tweet

A first batch of 590 people were evacuated to the nearby Blup Blup island, also known as Ruprup island, when the eruption began nine days ago. This was the first such instance ever recorded for the 1,197-feet Mount Kadovar, which vented ash for several days before exploding, blasting out glowing red rocks and sulphur dioxide.

A dome of lava was also observed in the sea at the base of thick white steam clouds that were rising to almost 2,000 feet above sea level, according to the latest bulletin of the Rabaul Volcanologist Observatory quoted in Reuters.

Local authorities have planned a further evacuation of people in the islands of Blup Blup and Bam—also known as Biem—fearing that their own volcanoes could erupt, and also issued a tsunami warning.

"Volcanoes are very unpredictable, we are hearing various reports that activity has been building up and we need to take all precautions to keep our people safe," read a statement from Prime Minister Peter O'Neill, quoted in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. "We will not take risks with human lives, let's get people out of harm's way now."

Rabaul Volcano Observatory volcanologist Steve Saunders said further eruptions in nearby volcanic islands were "unlikely," whereas a tsunami triggered by seismic activity at Kadovar was a possibility.

"There is a potential for [the eruption] to get more violent than it is at the moment, and if it does become more violent, there's the possibility for tsunami," Saunders said, quoted in ABC


Lava build-up from Kadovar volcano emerges from sea - RADIO NZ

14 FEBRUARY 2018. Lava has been gradually oozing from a breached vent on the small island which began erupting last month, prompting the evacuation of its over 600 residents. According to the Rabaul Volcano Observatory, Kadovar's eruption continues at a low-level with mild steaming at the summit, and a gentle emission of unexplosive lava.

The Observatory's acting assistant director Steve Saunders said a dome of lava had formed and reached about 200 metres out to sea.

"It's not super hot. That would make it more fluid. It's actually quite viscous, thick stuff. So it's coming out as a large, blocky lava flow. So they can see it from fifteen kilometres away. It's a small, black steaming lump in the sea, and there's a gap between it and the island, so they estimate about fifty metres."

Mr Saunders said the eruption was pretty stable. "And then there's just slow, gentle emission of a flat lava. I mean flat when it's got no gas in it. So it's not explosive or anything," he explained.

"But they (volcanoes) fluctuate. It can actually pick up or die down. That's the million dollar question. The island itself of Kadovar will be uninhabitable for a very long time. The population of six hundred... and it was already overpopulated. So the majority of the people won't be able to go back for a long time, no."

IMAGE: A view of Kadovar, from BlupBlup Photo: Rabaul Volcanological Observatory