All times are local unless otherwise stated.

Colima (Mexico) | 15 May-21 May 2002 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Colima Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt	A strong increase in volcanic tremor at Colima caused the Scientific Committee on 18 May to evacuate hundreds of residents from several towns on the SW and SE flanks. Scientists also recorded changes in deformation, the chemistry of spring water near the volcano, and the composition of ejected rocks. In addition, heightened temperatures were recorded on infrared imagery. On 21 May there was an increase in the number of explosive-type earthquakes and a slight decrease in tremor earthquakes in comparison to the previous day. The 6.5-km-radius exclusion zone around Colima remained in effect, with other restrictions to access out to 11.5 km from the volcano's summit. Sources: Centro Universitario de Estudios Vulcanológicos (CUEV) - Universidad de Colima, Associated Press
Manam (Papua New Guinea) | 15 May-21 May 2002 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Manam Bismarck Volcanic Arc	A moderate-sized Strombolian eruption occurred at Manam on 20 May. A pilot reported observing an ash plume at a maximum height of ~9 km on the 20th at 0500. At 0945 on the same day an eruption cloud was visible on satellite imagery extending to the SW. The Rabaul Volcano Observatory reported that a continuous eruption was occurring until at least 0947 on 20 May. Source: Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC)
Nyiragongo (DR Congo) | 15 May-21 May 2002 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Nyiragongo Albertine Rift Zone	On 17 January 2002, during the eruption of Nyiragongo, all lava drained from the volcano's summit, leaving a 700-m-deep empty crater. In late April harmonic tremor began to be registered at two seismic stations on Nyiragongo's S flank, and increased irregularly in amplitude until mid-May. Anomalous clouds had been noticed above the crater twice since 1 May, but no incandescence had been visible at night. No eruptive activity was visible 14 May during an overflight, but increasing tremor amplitude suggested that magma was moving within the summit area. On 17-18 May a small lava fountain was seen on the floor of the crater along the same fissure that apparently drained the crater in January. The lava fountain was 12 m high, no lava lake was forming in the crater, and small incandescent vents on the crater floor ejected hot gases. The Goma Volcano Observatory stated,"this is a normal development in Nyiragongo's historical eruptive pattern, and is no cause for immediate concern." Source: Observatoire Volcanologique de Goma (OVG)

Karymsky (Russia) | 15 May-21 May 2002 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Karymsky Eastern Kamchatka Volcanic Arc	During 10-17 May seismicity was above background levels at Karymsky and the rate of earthquakes slightly increased in the middle of the report week. The character of seismicity suggested that weak ash-and-gas explosions, gas blow-outs, and debris avalanches occurred. Observations from a helicopter on 10 May revealed that a new ~100-m-high cone had grown inside the crater and a lava flow was seen on the volcano's SSE slope. Thermal anomalies and an ash-and-steam plume were visible on satellite imagery. Karymsky remained at Concern Color Code Yellow ("volcano is restless"). Source: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)
Kilauea (United States) | 15 May-21 May 2002 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Kilauea Hawaiian-Emperor Hotspot Volcano Group	Surface lava flows were visible at Kilauea during 15-17 May. The front of one flow was about 2.5 km from the ocean. Following the 12 May inflation event, the level of volcanic tremor and long-period earthquakes at Kilauea's summit was moderate, as was the level of tremor at Pu`u `O`o. No significant deformation was recorded. Source: US Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO)
Popocatepetl (Mexico) | 15 May-21 May 2002 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Popocatepetl Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt	During 15-21 May, Popocatépetl emitted small clouds of steam, gas, and generally minor amounts of ash. In addition, episodes of harmonic tremor were recorded. Sources: Centro Nacional de Prevencion de Desastres (CENAPRED), Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)
Sheveluch (Russia) | 15 May-21 May 2002 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Sheveluch Eastern Kamchatka Volcanic Arc	During 10-17 May, there were several small emissions of gas, steam, and ash at Shiveluch. Seismicity included earthquakes with magnitudes less than or equal to 2.1 at depths of 0-6 km, many local shallow seismic signals (from possible avalanches or weak gas-and-ash explosions), and episodes of weak intermittent volcanic tremor. Thermal anomalies were visible on AVHRR satellite imagery, but ash was not. Shiveluch remained at Concern Color Code Yellow ("volcano is restless"). Source: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)
Shishaldin (United States) | 15 May-21 May 2002 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Shishaldin Aleutian Ridge Volcanic Arc	During 10-17 May, the Alaska Volcano Observatory detected an increase in background seismicity at Shishaldin. There was an increase in the number of locatable shallow low-frequency earthquakes and several 2 to- 3-minute-long tremor-like signals that were inferred to be from a deep source. No thermal anomalies were visible on satellite imagery and there were no eyewitness reports of anomalous volcanic activity. Shishaldin remained at Concern Color Code Green ("volcano is in quiet, "dormant" state"). Source: US Geological Survey Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO)
Soufriere Hills (United Kingdom) | 15 May-21 May 2002 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Soufriere Hills Lesser Antilles Volcanic Arc	During 10-17 May, volcanic activity was generally higher than it had been the previous week. Lava-dome growth continued to be concentrated on the E flank. Rockfall, pyroclastic-flow, and long-period earthquake activity was relatively high during the first half of the report period, but declined slightly during 15-17 May. Sources: Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC), Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO)
Tungurahua (Ecuador) | 15 May-21 May 2002 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Tungurahua Andean Northern Volcanic Arc	During 14-21 May, emissions of gas, steam, and ash continued at Tungurahua. On 14 May an eruption produced a steam-and-ash plume that rose 1.5 km above the volcano. Sources: Instituto Geofísico-Escuela Politécnica Nacional (IG-EPN), Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)

Weekly Reports Archive

Since the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report began in November 2000, there have been 20,322 individual reports over 1,229 weeks (average of 17 per week) on 336 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)