All times are local unless otherwise stated.

Ulawun (Papua New Guinea) | 28 August-3 September 2002 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Ulawun Bismarck Volcanic Arc	The Darwin VAAC reported that on 28 August at 0732 a low-level ash cloud from an eruption at Ulawun was visible on satellite imagery. By 1532 the same day ash was no longer visible. According to a news article, ash eruptions had occurred on 26 August and during the previous week, but became larger on the 27th. As of the 28th, care centers were preparing for possible evacuations. Sources: Papua New Guinea Post-Courier Online, Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC)
Yasur (Vanuatu) | 28 August-3 September 2002 | New Activity / Unrest Cite this Report
Yasur Vanuatu Volcanic Arc	An increase in activity at Yasur since October 2001 and the occurrence of a M 6 volcanic earthquake on 29 August at 1500 led scientists to increase the Alarm Level at Yasur to 3. This was the largest earthquake recorded at Yasur since seismic stations were installed in October 1992. Access to the volcano was prohibited and no evacuations were ordered. Source: IRD Noumea via European Volcanological Society

Galunggung (Indonesia) | 28 August-3 September 2002 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Galunggung Sunda Volcanic Arc	Reports that an eruption occurred at Galunggung on 23 August were incorrect. A brushfire near the volcano led observers to believe that an eruption was occurring. Source: Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as CVGHM)
Kilauea (United States) | 28 August-3 September 2002 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Kilauea Hawaiian-Emperor Hotspot Volcano Group	During 27 August to 2 September, lava flowed down Paliuli and Pulama pali, and many surface lava flows were visible on the coastal flat. Seismicity was generally at normal levels, with the swarm of long-period earthquakes and tremor that has been occurring since early June fluctuating. There were small episodes of inflation and deflation at Uwekahuna and Pu`u `O`o for several days. By 2 September Pu`u `O`o was slowly deflating. Source: US Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO)
Merapi (Indonesia) | 28 August-3 September 2002 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Merapi Sunda Volcanic Arc	During 19-25 August, observers saw 16 incandescent lava avalanches travel predominately down Merapi's SW flank into the upstream portions of the Sat, Lamat, and Senowo rivers. The avalanches reached a maximum run-out distance of ~2.5 km. Seismicity was dominated by 187 lava avalanches. Merapi remained at Alert Level 2 (on a scale of 1-4). Source: Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as CVGHM)
Popocatepetl (Mexico) | 28 August-3 September 2002 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Popocatepetl Trans-Mexican Volcanic Arc	In August there were several emissions of steam, gas, and minor amounts of ash at Popocatépetl. In addition, episodes of both harmonic and high-frequency tremor occurred. CENAPRED attributes this activity to a new lava dome that has been growing for several weeks. Source: Centro Nacional de Prevencion de Desastres (CENAPRED)
Sheveluch (Russia) | 28 August-3 September 2002 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Sheveluch Eastern Kamchatka Volcanic Arc	During 23-30 August, volcanic and seismic activity at Shiveluch were at similar levels to the previous week. Seismicity remained above background levels, with the occurrence of three earthquakes with magnitudes 1.7-2.1, and many smaller ones. Seismic data indicated possible avalanches and ash-and-gas explosions that may have sent material 1-2.5 km above the lava dome. Volcanic tremor decreased in comparison to the previous week. Gas-and-steam plumes rose 1-1.2 km above the lava dome. Thermal anomalies were visible on satellite imagery, but ash was not. Shiveluch remained at Concern Color Code Yellow. Source: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)
Soufriere Hills (United Kingdom) | 28 August-3 September 2002 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Soufriere Hills Lesser Antilles Volcanic Arc	During 23-30 August, volcanic and seismic activity at Soufrière Hills remained at moderate levels. Small pyroclastic flows traveled mainly down the NE flank where they were channeled into the upper portions of Tuitt's Ghaut, although some spilled eastwards along the northern side of the Tar River Valley. Talus also continued to accumulate in the notch in the NW sector of the old lava dome, which leads towards Tyre's Ghaut. SO2 flux remained at moderate levels. Source: Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO)
Tungurahua (Ecuador) | 28 August-3 September 2002 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Tungurahua Northern Andean Volcanic Arc	During 21-27 August, emissions of steam, gas, and ash continued at Tungurahua. Ash clouds reportedly rose to a maximum height of ~7.3 km a.s.l. Source: Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)
Witori (Papua New Guinea) | 28 August-3 September 2002 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Witori Bismarck Volcanic Arc	The Japanese Disaster Relief Team that visited Pago during 25 August to 3 September found that lava had erupted from four of the five craters NW of the Pago Central cone that are aligned NW-SE. The largest quantity of lava was emitted from the lowest cone; lava from the cone flowed NE and then was directed SE after reaching the crater wall. Two faults were visible; one was parallel to the crater line, and the other was perpendicular to it. No eruption column was observed, only blue-white fumarolic gas was emitted. The thickest ash deposits were 2 mm thick 3 km N of the craters, and less than 1 mm thick at Hoskins airport. Source: Volcano Research Center-Earthquake Research Institute (University of Tokyo)

Weekly Reports Archive

Since the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report began in November 2000, there have been 21,992 individual reports over 1,299 weeks (average of 17 per week) on 344 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)