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Report on Paluweh (Indonesia) — August 1981


Paluweh

Scientific Event Alert Network Bulletin, vol. 6, no. 8 (August 1981)
Managing Editor: Lindsay McClelland.

Paluweh (Indonesia) Incandescent material; seismicity

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 1981. Report on Paluweh (Indonesia) (McClelland, L., ed.). Scientific Event Alert Network Bulletin, 6:8. Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.SEAN198108-264150



Paluweh

Indonesia

8.32°S, 121.708°E; summit elev. 875 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


Indonesian Meteorological Institute personnel reported that Paluweh has erupted for the second time this year. The meteorology bureau on Flores Island . . . said it recorded 809 "strong tremors" 17-22 August. "Lava and burning rocks" were repeatedly erupted on 22 August. On 24 August the bureau recorded ocean water temperatures as high as [98°C] around the island. No casualties were reported, but inhabitants evacuated the area. Crops and fishing boats were damaged.

Geological Summary. Paluweh volcano, also known as Rokatenda, forms the 8-km-wide island of Palu'e north of the volcanic arc that cuts across Flores Island. The broad irregular summit region contains overlapping craters up to 900 m wide and several lava domes. Several flank vents occur along a NW-trending fissure. The largest historical eruption occurred in 1928, when strong explosive activity was accompanied by landslide-induced tsunamis and lava dome emplacement. Pyroclastic flows in August 2013 resulted in fatalities.

Information Contacts: UPI.