All times are local unless otherwise stated.

Lokon-Empung | 12 February-18 February 2003 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Lokon-Empung Sulawesi	On 10 February at 2219 an ash explosion occurred at Lokon-Empung, but the height of the resultant ash cloud could not be determined due to heavy rain. On 12 February, mainly during 0100-1000, there was a significant increase in volcanic earthquakes. At 1048 an explosion occurred, followed by seismic data indicating a larger explosion at 1102. On 12 February during 0800-1100 the Alert Level was raised from 3 to 4 (the highest level). Tremor was continuously recorded during 1255 on the 12th to 0046 the following day. According to the Darwin VAAC, an explosion occurred on 19 February at 0403 that produced a plume to 500 m above the summit. Sources: Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as CVGHM), Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC)
Nyiragongo | 12 February-18 February 2003 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Nyiragongo DR Congo	Beginning around 10 February volcanic activity increased at Nyiragongo. Fine ash covered cars in the city of Goma and at 1142 a long-period earthquake occurred for more than 2 minutes that was followed by several small events and an increase in tremor amplitude. Residents near the volcano noticed an increase in plume height, a change in plume color from white to black, and a sustained rain of ash and Pele's hair. As of the 14th, Pele's hair continued to fall in Goma and an ash plume was visible rising at least 5 km above the crater. At this time seismicity was probably lower than the previous week. GVO stated that the Pele's hair that fell in Goma was produced by lava fountaining inside Nyiragongo's crater. Residents in Goma and surrounding villages experienced a water shortage due to the contamination of rain water, which is their only source of water. According to the MODIS Thermal Alerts website, thermal alerts have been visible at Nyiragongo every month since June 2002. Two alert pixels were visible at the volcano on 13 February. Sources: Observatoire Volcanologique de Goma (OVG), The Open University Volcano Dynamics Group

Etna | 12 February-18 February 2003 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Etna Sicily (Italy)	According to the Italy's Volcanoes website, on 12 February a series of ten earthquakes occurred on Etna's NE flank in the same area that was affected by vigorous seismicity and ground deformation before and during the initial phase of the 27 October 2002 to 28 January 2003 eruption. The largest earthquake occurred on 13 February at 0632, with a magnitude of 3.8 and a focal depth of 1.65 km. Source: Italy's Volcanoes
Kilauea | 12 February-18 February 2003 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Kilauea Hawaiian Islands (USA)	During 12-19 February at Kilauea, lava continued to flow into the sea at the West Highcastle entry. Lava flowed through lava tubes down Pulama pali and Paliuli as it traveled to the sea. Surface lava flows continued to travel through vegetation, igniting fires and causing methane explosions. Rangers' office huts, restrooms, and signs were moved out of the path of the lava flow, which reached the Chain of Craters Road on 19 February at 1005. Generally, seismicity remained at normal levels, with the long-lasting swarm of long-period earthquakes and tremor at Kilauea's summit, which began last June, continuing at low-to-moderate levels. Small periods of inflation and deformation, which were consistent in magnitude and patterns, were recorded at Uwekahuna and Pu`u `O`o tiltmeters during the report period. Sources: US Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO), Honolulu Advertiser
Klyuchevskoy | 12 February-18 February 2003 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Klyuchevskoy Central Kamchatka (Russia)	Seismicity was slightly above background levels during 7-14 February at Kliuchevskoi, with 17-30 earthquakes occurring each day at depths of ~30 km. Continuous spasmodic volcanic tremor was registered during the report week, and gas-and-steam plumes rose to 1.5 km above the crater. The Concern Color Code remained at Yellow. Source: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)
Popocatepetl | 12 February-18 February 2003 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Popocatepetl Mexico	A moderate explosion at Popocatépetl on 14 February at 0534 ejected incandescent fragments as far away as 3 km around the crater. Also, a dense ash column rose 5 km above the volcano and drifted NE. The ejected fragments caused some fires in pasture land. This eruption was related to the partial destruction of the lava dome. After the eruption, activity returned to low-to-moderate emissions of steam, gas, and ash. Sources: Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC), Centro Nacional de Prevencion de Desastres (CENAPRED)
Santa Maria | 12 February-18 February 2003 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Santa Maria Southwestern Guatemala	Based on information from INSIVUMEH, the Washington VAAC reported that explosions occurred at Santa María during the evening of 16 February and the following morning. The explosions from Santiaguito lava dome produced ash plumes that rose to 600 m above the summit. An ash plume was visible on satellite imagery. Source: Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)
Sheveluch | 12 February-18 February 2003 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Sheveluch Central Kamchatka (Russia)	During 7-14 February, seismicity remained above background levels at Shiveluch and many shallow earthquakes were recorded. Seismic data indicated that 10 ash-and-gas explosions reached heights of 1 km above the lava dome, and hot avalanches possibly occurred. Volcanic spasmodic tremor occurred and gas-and-steam plumes rose to 1 km above the crater. Thermal anomalies were visible on satellite imagery. Shiveluch remained at Concern Color Code Yellow. Source: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)
Soufriere Hills | 12 February-18 February 2003 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Soufriere Hills Montserrat	Activity at Soufrière Hills was at moderate levels during 7-14 February. Lava-dome growth was focused towards the NNE and produced pyroclastic flows and rockfalls in Tuitt's Ghaut, White's Ghaut, and along the N side of the Tar River Valley. Rockfalls and small pyroclastic flows also occurred off the N flank of the dome onto the area of Riley's Estate. The Washington VAAC stated that several low-level ash plumes were visible on satellite imagery. Sources: Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO), Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)
Tungurahua | 12 February-18 February 2003 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Tungurahua Ecuador	Seismic and volcanic activity remained at low-to-moderate levels at Tungurahua during 7-14 February, with emissions of steam, gas, and ash producing low-level plumes. Based on information from IG, the Washington VAAC reported that an emission occurred on 12 February at 1657 that rose to low levels and drifted W. No ash was visible on satellite imagery. Sources: Instituto Geofísico-Escuela Politécnica Nacional (IG-EPN), Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)
Veniaminof | 12 February-18 February 2003 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Veniaminof Alaska Peninsula, Alaska	The elevated seismicity that began at Veniaminof in mid-December 2002 continued through 7-14 February. Discrete seismic events occurred at rates up to 1 event per minute. AVO stated that at this level of seismic unrest, low-level steaming, and minor ash emissions may occur at any time. No elevated surface temperatures, ash emissions, or ash deposits were noted on satellite images. The Concern Color Code remained at Yellow. Source: US Geological Survey Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO)

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.

Some of the documents on this server may contain live references (or pointers) to information created and maintained by other organizations. Please note that USGS does not control and cannot guarantee the relevance, timeliness, or accuracy of these outside materials.

For site security purposes and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, this government computer system employs software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. Unauthorized attempts to upload information or change information on this website are strictly prohibited and may be punishable under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act. Information may also be used for authorized law enforcement investigations. (Last modified September 21, 1999.)

U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA, USA
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)