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Volcanic eruption darkens skies over Northern Marianas
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-04-07 14:21
A powerful eruption sent smoke 50,000 feet (15,240 metres) into the air,
darkening skies over the Northern Marianas Islands as aircraft were warned to
steer clear of Anatahan Island where the volcano is located.
Residents said the sky was as dark as night although it was only morning.
This image released by NASA Tuesday April 5,
2005 a thick cloud of ash erupts from the Anatahan Volcano in this
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image collected on
April 5, 2005. According to the Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center, a
series of low-level eruptions starting on April 4 have created this plume.
The Anatahan Volcano erupted again Wednesday morning, shooting a thick
plume of ash 50,000 feet into the air and darkening the skies over this
tiny U.S. territory in the Pacific. [AP] | The
volcano on uninhabited Anatahan had been emitting ash and smoke at a low level
since January but its activity rapidly intensified late Tuesday and peaked early
Wednesday.
The US Air Force Weather Agency said the ash plume reached 50,000 feet and
extended about 250 nautical miles in an east-southeast direction.
The Emergency Management Office (EMO) placed Anatahan off limits, and said
while the volcano was not currently dangerous to air traffic "conditions may
change rapidly, and aircraft should pass upwind of Anatahan or beyond 10
nautical miles downwind."
An undated photograph taken from the Northern
Marianas website shows the Anatahan island. A powerful eruption sent smoke
50,000 feet (15,240 metres) into the air, as airplanes were warned to
steer clear of Anatahan Island where the volcano is located.
[AFP/File] | Residents on Rota, Tinian and Saipan were warned to expect fallouts of
volcanic ash, and people with respiratory ailments were advised to stay indoors.
The EMO also recommended all schools close due to the "health hazards from
the ash and volcanic smog caused by the major volcanic eruption of Anatahan".
Anatahan erupted from May 2003 for lasted six weeks. A second eruption
developed in April last week and continued until late July, while the present
activity started on January 6 this year.
Anatahan is a 33 square kilometre (13 square miles) island, 128 kilometres
(80 miles) north of here and just over 322 kilometres (200 miles) north of Guam.
It is around 2,250 kilometres (1,400 miles) south of Tokyo.
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