All times are local unless otherwise stated.

Bamus | 12 July-18 July 2006 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Bamus New Britain (Papua New Guinea)	RVO reported that white vapor emissions from Bamus were observed during 1000-1130 on 12 July. The emissions were forceful and slightly gray in color at 1110. The vapor plume drifted SSE. Source: Rabaul Volcano Observatory (RVO)
Karangetang | 12 July-18 July 2006 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Karangetang Sangihe Islands	The Alert Status of Karangetang was raised on 13 July from 2 to 3 (on a scale of 1-4) due to increased eruptive activity. On 12 July, lava flows were observed moving E toward the Kahetang and Batu Awang rivers at a maximum distance of 2 km from the vent. White emissions reached a height of 600 m above the crater (7,800 ft a.s.l.). Source: Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as CVGHM)
Mayon | 12 July-18 July 2006 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Mayon Luzon (Philippines)	Phreatic eruptions at Mayon on 13 July produced ash that fell up to approximately 5.3 km NE in Calbayog, Malilipot. The Alert Level was raised from 1 to 3 (scale is 0-5, 0 referring to No Alert status) after observers reported lava flows on the SE slopes, the predominant direction for lava flows and rockfalls. On 16 July, a danger zone 6 km from the summit was extended to 7 km in the SE area. Incandescent material was shed from an 800 m long lava flow moving SSE towards Bonga gully on 16 and 17 July. On 18 July, PHIVOLCS reported that the lava flow reached 1 km in length and incandescent boulders rolled 3 km towards the Bonga gully. Sources: Associated Press, Associated Press, Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), Manila Standard Today
Merapi | 12 July-18 July 2006 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Merapi Central Java	During 12-18 July, lava flows at Merapi were observed and reached a maximum distance of 2 km SE along the Gendol River. Gas plumes were also observed daily and reached heights of 1 km above the crater (12,800 ft a.s.l.). On 17 July, CVGHM reported that the Alert Level was lowered one level to 3 (on a scale of 1-4) in all remaining areas previously at Alert Level 4 (S slopes). Pyroclastic flows were not observed during the reporting period. Source: Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as CVGHM)
Sulu Range | 12 July-18 July 2006 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Sulu Range New Britain (Papua New Guinea)	The RVO reported that seismic activity from the Sulu Range continued at a high level during 13-15 July. No emissions were reported during this period. According to news reports, on 16 July disaster officials in Papua New Guinea evacuated three villages and moved 1,400 people to camps outside of the hazard zone. Sources: Rabaul Volcano Observatory (RVO), Association of American Publishers
Tungurahua | 12 July-18 July 2006 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Tungurahua Ecuador	During 12-18 July, eruptive activity at Tungurahua increased. Incandescent blocks rolled 500 m down the flanks and steam emissions with moderate ash content reached heights of 300 m above the crater (17,500 ft a.s.l.) during 11-13 July. On 14 July, a large eruption generated ash clouds that reached heights of 15 km above the summit (66,000 ft a.s.l.). The plume expanded in multiple directions and then drifted predominantly W, SW, and E. Ash accumulated to a maximum thickness of 15 mm in Pillate, about 7 km to the W. At least five pyroclastic flows, the first since 1999, traveled N and NW. The resulting deposits were up to 8 m thick and 20 m wide. At least four lava flows were also observed. Over 3,700 people from seven small villages near the volcano evacuated to nearby towns. On 15 and 16 July, multiple pyroclastic flows reached the area of Cusúa, approximately 7 km NW of the summit. Explosions and pyroclastic flows generated ash clouds that reached heights of 6 km above the volcano (36,200 ft a.s.l.). On 17 July, eruption columns with high ash content reached heights of 5 km above the summit (32,900 ft a.s.l.). On 18 July, moderate explosions produced steam columns that reached maximum heights of 3 km above the crater (26,300 ft a.s.l.). A child died after ash inhalation complicated a heart illness. Sources: Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC), Prensa Latina, Instituto Geofísico-Escuela Politécnica Nacional (IG-EPN), Reuters

Galeras | 12 July-18 July 2006 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Galeras Colombia	According to a news article, on 12 July the Colombian government ordered the evacuation of ~10,000 people living near Galeras due to an increase in volcanic activity. INGEOMINAS reported an increase in seismic activity and at least two explosive eruptions. Ash accumulated about 10 km N and NE in the towns of La Florida and Nariño and 5 km NE in the town of Genoy. The Alert Level was increased from 2 (probable eruption in days to weeks) to 1 (eruption imminent or occurring). On 13 July, due to a decrease in activity, the Alert Level was lowered from 1 to 3 (changes in the behavior of volcanic activity have been noted). Approximately 2,000 people had been taken to shelters. Sources: BBC News, Associated Press, Servicio Geológico Colombiano (SGC), Reuters
Karymsky | 12 July-18 July 2006 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Karymsky Eastern Kamchatka (Russia)	Activity at Karymsky continued during 8-14 July, with 250-1000 shallow earthquakes occurring daily. Based on interpretations of seismic data, ash plumes reached altitudes of 5 km (16,400 ft) a.s.l. A thermal anomaly in the crater was observed on 9 July. Karymsky remained at Concern Color Code Orange. Source: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)
Kilauea | 12 July-18 July 2006 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Kilauea Hawaiian Islands (USA)	During 14-18 July, small areas of incandescence were observed from Kilauea's Campout flow on Pulama pali. Lava continued to flow off of a lava delta into the ocean at the East Lae`apuki entry. Seismicity levels were low at the summit and moderate at Pu`u `O`o. Source: US Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO)
Manam | 12 July-18 July 2006 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Manam Northeast of New Guinea	According to the Darwin VAAC, a pilot reported that an ash cloud from Manam reached altitudes of 4.6 km (15,000 ft) a.s.l. on 17 July and drifted N. Ash was not visible on satellite imagery due to local cloud cover. Source: Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC)
Semeru | 12 July-18 July 2006 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Semeru Eastern Java	Eruption plumes from Semeru were visible on satellite imagery on 14 July drifting SE at unknown altitudes. On 17 July plumes reached altitudes of 4.3 km (14,000 ft) a.s.l. Source: Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC)
Soufriere Hills | 12 July-18 July 2006 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Soufriere Hills Montserrat	According to the Washington VAAC, the Montserrat Volcano Observatory reported a pyroclastic flow from Soufrière Hills on 13 July that reached the sea and produced an ash plume to an altitude of 2.4 km (8,000 ft) a.s.l. Source: Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)
St. Helens | 12 July-18 July 2006 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
St. Helens Washington	During 12-18 July, the lava dome at Mount St. Helens continued to grow and produce small rockfalls. On 18 July at 0956, a M 3.6 earthquake (one of the largest earthquakes during the ongoing eruption) triggered rockfalls from the spine and crater walls. Dust plumes rose above the crater rim and quickly dissipated. The hazard status remained at Volcano Advisory (Alert Level 2); aviation color code Orange. Source: US Geological Survey Cascades Volcano Observatory (CVO)
Suwanosejima | 12 July-18 July 2006 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Suwanosejima Ryukyu Islands (Japan)	A pilot observed an ash plume from Suwanose-jima on 16 July that reached an altitude of 1.8 km (6,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted N. Ash was not visible on satellite imagery. Source: Tokyo Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)
Tengger Caldera | 12 July-18 July 2006 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Tengger Caldera Eastern Java	A small plume from Tengger Caldera was visible on a satellite image on 14 July. No ash was detected. Source: Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC)
Ubinas | 12 July-18 July 2006 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Ubinas Peru	According to the Buenos Aires VAAC, ash clouds from Ubinas were visible on satellite imagery during 14-15 July and reached altitudes of 5.5 km (18,000 ft) a.s.l. On 17 July, a pilot reported ash clouds that also reached altitudes of 5.5 km (18,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted NE. Source: Buenos Aires 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.

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)