All times are local unless otherwise stated.

Avachinsky | 3 October-9 October 2001 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Avachinsky Eastern Kamchatka (Russia)	During 25 August until at least 5 October several earthquakes, with magnitudes between 1.2 and 2.5, were detected near Avachinsky. On 5 October at 0759 an earthquake inside the volcano's edifice was accompanied by a small gas-and-steam explosion with small amounts of ash that rose less than 1 km above the crater. A thin layer of ash covered the SE sector of the volcano's edifice. The same day at 1000 larger gas-and-steam plumes were observed rising above the volcano. Mudflows traveled 50-100 m down Avachinsky's SE slope. KVERT personnel believe the mudflows were caused by intensive activity at a single fumarole on the SE side of the summit. On 5 October the Concern Color Code at Avachinsky was raised from Green to Yellow. Source: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)
Fonualei | 3 October-9 October 2001 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Fonualei Tonga Ridge	The Laboratoire de Géophysique reported that explosive volcanic activity may have occurred at Fonualei volcano during late September. On 27, 28, and 30 September numerous short T waves were received by the French Polynesian Seismic Network. The preliminary location of the seismicity was determined to be near the Tonga archipelago at 18.18°S (well constrained) and 174°W (not as well constrained). The hydro-acoustic activity was interpreted to be volcanic and explosive and could not be related to seismic activity at the Tonga Trench. According to the Laboratoire de Géophysique, the hydro-acoustic source could be near Fonualei volcano. Source: Laboratoire de Géophysique
Piton de la Fournaise | 3 October-9 October 2001 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Piton de la Fournaise Reunion Island (France)	OVPDLF reported that beginning in early September an increase in seismic activity was detected at Piton de la Fournaise, with ~10 seismic events per day. Beginning in early October seismic activity further increased with up to 20 events per day. Slight tilt variations detected S of Dolomieu Crater occurred simultaneously with the opening of fissures at two stations on the N and S flanks. The opening of the fissures indicated slight inflation at the summit. Piton de la Fournaise last erupted during June and July 2001. Source: Observatoire Volcanologique du Piton de la Fournaise (OVPF)
Sheveluch | 3 October-9 October 2001 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Sheveluch Central Kamchatka (Russia)	During 28 September to 6 October a lava dome continued to grow in Shiveluch's active crater, and several eruptions produced ash and steam-and-gas clouds. The highest reported ash clouds were produced from eruptions on 1 October at 1641 and 1654. The ash plumes rose to 7 and 7.5 km above the volcano, respectively, and deposited a few millimeters of ash in Klyuchi town, 46 km from the volcano. An eruption the same day at 2210 produced a mushroom-shaped ash cloud that rose to ~3 km above the volcano and extended ~10 km SE. On the evening of 3 October incandescence was visible at the dome. Thermal anomalies in the active dome area were visible on satellite imagery. Spasmodic volcanic tremor and weak, shallow seismic signals (possible collapses and avalanches) were registered. Shiveluch remained at Concern Color Code Orange. Source: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)

Etna | 3 October-9 October 2001 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Etna Sicily (Italy)	During 4 and 5 October a large amount of degassing occurred at Northeast Crater. Degassing at Bocca Nuova crater was occasionally accompanied by ash emissions generated by the crumbling of the crater walls. Gas and "smoke" were continuously emitted from the edges of the new crater located at 2.55 km elevation. Source: Etna Volcan Sicilien (Charles Rivière)
Ioto | 3 October-9 October 2001 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Ioto Volcano Islands	No volcanic activity was observed at Iwo-jima after 22 September, but discolored seawater was occasionally visible along the SE coast until at least 10 October. The area of discolored water was smaller than when the submarine eruption began on 21 September. During 20 to about 28 September many earthquakes and tremor were detected. Floating pumice collected along Iwo-jima's coast after the eruption is being analyzed to determine if the eruption was magmatic or hydrothermal. Sources: National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention, Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA)
Karangetang | 3 October-9 October 2001 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Karangetang Sangihe Islands	During 1-7 October there was an increase of deep volcanic earthquakes at Karangetang. On 1 and 2 October incandescent lava avalanches traveled from the main crater. Steam plumes rose 600 m above the main crater and 50-150 m above Crater II. A 50-m-high "red reflection" was observed. The Alert Level remained at 3 (on a scale of 1-4). Source: Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as CVGHM)
Kilauea | 3 October-9 October 2001 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Kilauea Hawaiian Islands (USA)	During the week, lava continued to flow into the ocean at the E Kupapa`u ocean entry and at the new Kamoamoa entry and surface lava flows were visible above and on the Pulama pali. The overall size of the E Kupapa`u entry diminished, while activity was divided into two distinct areas at the Kamoamoa entry; one to the E and one to the W. By 8 October lava was only emitted from the W Kamoamoa entry area. Generally, volcanic tremor remained at moderate-to-low levels at Kilauea's summit and Pu`u `O`o. Background tremor at Pu`u `O`o was interrupted at intervals of ten's of minutes to an hour or two, by short-lived bursts of relatively vigorous tremor. Besides small deflation at Kilauea's summit on 28 September, tiltmeters across the volcano showed no significant deformation. Source: US Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO)
Merapi | 3 October-9 October 2001 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Merapi Central Java	During 1-7 October 59 incandescent lava avalanches were observed travelling SW. The avalanches predominately traveled to the upstream portions of the Sat River, and to a lesser extent down the Lamat and Senowo rivers to a maximum run-out distance of 2.5 km. Seismicity was dominated by approximately the same number and intensity of avalanche earthquakes as the previous week. An average of 80 tons per day of SO2 was measured. The Alert Level remained at 2. Source: Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as CVGHM)
Popocatepetl | 3 October-9 October 2001 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Popocatepetl Mexico	During the week, Popocatépetl emitted small clouds of steam, gas, and minor amounts of ash, and underwent episodes of harmonic tremor. According to reports from the México City MWO to the Washington VAAC, a small eruption on 9 October at 0712 produced an ash cloud that rose 2 km above the volcano and drifted to the W. Source: Centro Nacional de Prevencion de Desastres (CENAPRED)
Semeru | 3 October-9 October 2001 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Semeru Eastern Java	VSI reported that as of 5 October volcanic activity at Semeru was at normal levels, with a plume rising ~600 m above the volcano. Source: Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as CVGHM)
Soufriere Hills | 3 October-9 October 2001 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Soufriere Hills Montserrat	During 28 September to 5 October volcanic activity at Soufrière Hills increased in comparison to the previous week. Numerous pyroclastic flows were produced by material avalanching off the lava dome, which continued to grow in the summit crater at a moderate rate. Most of the pyroclastic flows during the report period were small and confined to the upper reaches of the Tar River Valley E of the volcano, but larger flows occurred on 4 and 5 October. On 4 October a small-scale lava-dome collapse (consisting of 10-15% of the dome's volume) on the N side of the dome produced sustained pyroclastic-flow activity between 0745 and 0915, with at least three flows reaching the sea. Similar activity occurred on 5 October at 0845 until at least midday. Dense ash clouds generated during both periods of elevated pyroclastic-flow activity were visible on satellite imagery rising to ~1.8 km a.s.l. and drifting to the W. Seismicity continued to be dominated by bands of hybrid earthquakes and rockfalls. Sources: Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO), Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)

Weekly Reports Archive

Since the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report began in November 2000, there have been 19,996 individual reports over 1,215 weeks (average of 16 per week) on 332 different volcanoes.

Use the dropdowns to choose the year and week for archived Weekly Reports.

 News Feeds and Google Placemarks

 Criteria & Disclaimers

The Weekly Volcanic Activity Report does not necessarily include all volcanic activity that occurred on Earth during the week. More than a dozen volcanoes globally have displayed more-or-less continuous eruptive activity for decades or longer, and such routine activity is typically not reported here. Moreover, Earth's sea-floor volcanism is seldom reported even though in theory it represents the single most prolific source of erupted material. The Weekly Volcanic Activity Report summarizes volcanic activity that meets one or more of the following criteria:

- A volcano observatory raises or lowers the alert level at the volcano.
- A volcanic ash advisory has been released by a volcanic ash advisory center (VAAC) stating that an ash cloud has been produced from the volcano.
- A verifiable news report of new activity or a change in activity at the volcano has been issued.
- Observers have reported a significant change in volcanic activity. Such activity can include, but is not restricted to, pyroclastic flows, lahars, lava flows, dome collapse, or increased unrest.

Volcanoes are included in the "New Activity/Unrest" section of the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report if the activity occurs after at least 3 months of quiescence. Once a volcano is included in the "New Activity/Unrest" section, updates will remain in that section unless the activity continues for more than 1 month without escalating, after which time updates will be listed in the "Continuing Activity" section. Volcanoes are also included in the "New Activity/Unrest" section if the volcano is undergoing a period of relatively high unrest, or increasing unrest. This is commonly equal to Alert Level Orange on a scale of Green, Yellow, Orange, Red, where Red is the highest alert. Or alert level 3 on a scale of 1-4 or 1-5.

It is important to note that volcanic activity meeting one or more of these criteria may occur during the week, but may not be included in the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report because we did not receive a report.

1. The Weekly Volcanic Activity Report is intended to provide timely information about global volcanism on a weekly basis. Consequently, the report is generated rapidly by summarizing volcanic reports from various sources, with little time for fact checking. The accuracy of the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report is dependent upon the quality of the volcanic activity reports we receive. Reports published in the Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network are cover longer time periods and are more carefully reviewed, although all of the volcanoes discussed in the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report are not necessarily reported in the Bulletin. Because of our emphasis on rapid reporting on the web we have avoided diacritical marks. Reports are updated on the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report web page as they are received, therefore information may be included regarding events that occurred before the current report period.

2. Rapidly developing events lead to coverage that is often fragmentary. Volcanoes, their eruptions, and their plumes and associated atmospheric effects are complex phenomena that may require months to years of data analysis in order to create a comprehensive summary and interpretation of events.

3. Preliminary accounts sometimes contain exaggerations and "false alarms," and accordingly, this report may include some events ultimately found to be erroneous or misleading.

4. Many news agencies do not archive the articles they post on the Internet, and therefore the links to some sources may not be active. To obtain information about the cited articles that are no longer available on the Internet contact the source.

5. USGS Disclaimer Statement for this Website:

Information presented on this website is considered public information and may be distributed or copied. Use of appropriate byline/photo/image credit is requested. We strongly recommend that USGS data be acquired directly from a USGS server and not through other sources that may change the data in some way. While USGS makes every effort to provide accurate and complete information, various data such as names, telephone numbers, etc. may change prior to updating. USGS welcomes suggestions on how to improve our home page and correct errors. USGS provides no warranty, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy, reliability or completeness of furnished data.

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URL: https://volcano.si.edu/reports_weekly.cfm

 Acronyms and Abbreviations

a.s.l. - above sea level

AVO - Alaska Volcano Observatory

AVHRR - Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer

CENAPRED - Centro Nacionale de Prevencion de Desastres (México)

CONRED - Coordinadora Nacional para la Reducción de Desastres

COSPEC - Correlation Spectrometer

CVGHM (formerly VSI) - Center of Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation

CVO - Cascades Volcano Observatory (USGS)

GMS - Geostationary Meteorological Satellite

GOES - Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite

GVO - Goma Volcano Observatory

GVP - Global Volcanism Program (Smithsonian Institution)

HVO - Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (USGS)

ICE - Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (Costa Rica)

IG - Instituto Geofísico (Ecuador)

IGNS - Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences (New Zealand) - now GNS Science

INETER - Instituto Nicaragüense de Estudios Territoriales (Nicaragua)

INGEMMET - Instituto Geológical Minero y Metalúrgico (Peru)

INGEOMINAS - Instituto Colombiano de Geología y Minería (Colombia)

INGV-CT - Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia - Sezione di Catania (Italy)

INSIVUMEH - Instituto Nacional de Sismologia, Vulcanologia, Meteorologia e Hidrologia (Guatemala)

IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (France)

JMA - Japanese Meteorological Agency

KEMSD - Kamchatkan Experimental and Methodical Seismilogical Department

KVERT - Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team

M - magnitude

METEOSAT - Meteorological Satellite

MEVO - Mount Erebus Volcano Observatory

MODIS - Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer

MVO - Montserrat Volcano Observatory

MWO - Meteorological Watch Office

NEIC - National Earthquake Information Center

NIED - National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention (Japan)

NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NOTAM - Notice to Airmen

OVDAS - Observatorio Volcanologico de los Andes del Sur (Chile)

OFDA - Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance

ONEMI - Oficina Nacional de Emergencia - Ministerio del Interior (Chile)

OVPDLF - Observatoire Volcanologique du Piton de la Fournaise (France)

OVSICORI-UNA - Observatorio Vulcanologico y Sismologico de Costa Rica, Universidad Nacional (Costa Rica)

PHIVOLCS - Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Philippines)

RSAM - Real-time Seismic Amplitude Measurement

RVO - Rabaul Volcano Observatory

SERNAGEOMIN - Servicio Nacional de Geologia y Mineria (Chile)

SIGMET - Significant Meteorological Information

SNET - Servicio Nacional de Estudios Territoriales (El Salvador)

SVERT - Sakhalin Volcanic Eruption Response Team (Russia)

USAID - US Agency for International Development

USGS - United States Geological Survey

UTC - Coordinated Universal Time

VAAC - Volcanic Ash Advisory Center

VAFTAD - Volcanic Ash Forecast Transport And Dispersion

VDAP - Volcano Disaster Assistance Program (USGS)

VHP - Volcano Hazards Program (USGS)

VRC - Volcano Research Center (Japan)