All times are local unless otherwise stated.

Etna | 18 December-24 December 2002 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Etna Sicily (Italy)	Eruptive activity continued during 16-21 December at Etna. According to the Italy's Volcanoes website, during the evening of 16-17 December explosive activity changed from lava-and-ash fountaining to discrete, ash-poor Strombolian explosions. Lava continued to flow from two vents at the S base of the active pyroclastic cone at 2,750-m elevation. During 19-21 December there were frequent shifts from lava fountaining and ash emissions to Strombolian explosions, and vice versa. Lava was no longer traveling towards the Rifugio Sapienza tourist complex. Ash had not fallen at the Catania airport since 8 December, so the airport returned to full service. Sources: Toulouse Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC), Italy's Volcanoes, Etna Volcan Sicilien (Charles Rivière)
Karymsky | 18 December-24 December 2002 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Karymsky Eastern Kamchatka (Russia)	Seismicity remained above background levels at Karymsky during 13-20 December, with about 190-210 shallow events recorded per day. The character of seismicity indicated that ash-and-gas explosions reached heights of ~1 km above the volcano, and vigorous, 5- to 10-minute-long gas emissions possibly occurred. Karymsky remained at Concern Color Code Yellow. Source: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)
Kilauea | 18 December-24 December 2002 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Kilauea Hawaiian Islands (USA)	During 18-22 December, lava continued to enter the sea at several points along the coast at three lava deltas. Surface lava flows were visible along the E arm that feeds a new lava delta, and sporadically along Paliuli. Generally, seismicity was at normal levels. The swarm of long-period earthquakes and tremor beneath Kilauea's caldera, occasionally seismically active since June, continued at a relatively low level. No significant deformation was recorded. Source: US Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO)
Klyuchevskoy | 18 December-24 December 2002 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Klyuchevskoy Central Kamchatka (Russia)	Seismicity was above background levels at Kliuchevskoi during 13-20 December. Seismographs recorded 6-12 earthquakes per day during the report period at depths of ~ 30 km. In addition, intermittent spasmodic volcanic tremor was recorded. Gas-and-steam plumes rose ~1.5 km above the crater and extended E and SE. Kliuchevskoi remained at Concern Color Code Yellow. Source: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)
Piton de la Fournaise | 18 December-24 December 2002 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Piton de la Fournaise Reunion Island (France)	OVPDLF reported on 19 December that after effusive activity stopped on 3 December very strong seismicity was recorded with more than 1,000 earthquakes occurring per day. The earthquakes were located a few hundred meters below Dolomieu crater. OVPDLF stated that crater collapse is possible. Source: Observatoire Volcanologique du Piton de la Fournaise (OVPF)
Popocatepetl | 18 December-24 December 2002 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Popocatepetl Mexico	Moderate explosions occurred at Popocatépetl on 18 December. After a period of high-frequency tremor, an explosion occurred at 0148 that produced an ash cloud that reached 2 km above the crater. Later, at 0209 and 0214 two explosions sent ash to ~0.5 km above the crater. that drifted to the NE. Fragments were sent around the crater a distance of ~1.5 km. The volcano returned to its previous relatively low level of activity. Popocatépetl remained at Alert Level Yellow phase II. Sources: Centro Nacional de Prevencion de Desastres (CENAPRED), Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC), EFE News Service
Rabaul | 18 December-24 December 2002 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Rabaul New Britain (Papua New Guinea)	During 17-20 December, the eruption of Rabaul volcano's Tavurvur cone was characterized by slow, convoluted ash plumes that rose several hundred to more than a thousand meters above the summit. Seismicity was low to moderate and no significant ground deformation was recorded. Source: Rabaul Volcano Observatory (RVO) via the Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Center
Reventador | 18 December-24 December 2002 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Reventador Ecuador	During 18-23 December, volcanic and seismic activity were low at Reventador. Seismicity was characterized by low-frequency tremor. No new activity was recorded at the volcano. Sources: Instituto Geofísico-Escuela Politécnica Nacional (IG), Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)
Sheveluch | 18 December-24 December 2002 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Sheveluch Central Kamchatka (Russia)	During 13-20 December, seismicity remained above background levels at Shiveluch. Seismic data indicated that seven ash-and-gas explosions reached heights of 1-2 km above the lava dome, and hot avalanches possibly occurred. A number of smaller earthquakes at depths of 0-6 km and weak intermittent spasmodic tremor was recorded. On 19 December around 0045 a pyroclastic flow traveled ~3 km down Shiveluch's SE slope. The associated plume rose 5.5 km a.sl. Thermal anomalies were visible on satellite imagery. Shiveluch remained at Concern Color Code Yellow. Source: Kamchatkan Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT)
Soufriere Hills | 18 December-24 December 2002 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Soufriere Hills Montserrat	Volcanic activity at Soufrière Hills increased to a high level during 13-20 December. Activity generally remained at moderate levels during the first half of the report period, but increased to a high level over the last 3 days. Spectacular incandescence of the dome was observed on most nights. The active extruded lobe on the dome's N side continued to grow, producing numerous rockfalls and small-to-moderate pyroclastic flows. Most of the activity was concentrated on the NNE and N flanks, producing numerous pyroclastic flows in White's Ghaut, the Tar River Valley and Tuitt's Ghaut. Pyroclastic flows and rockfalls also traveled down the W and NW flanks. On 19 December mudflows occurred in White River, Tar River Valley and Fort Ghaut. Sources: Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO), Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)
Tungurahua | 18 December-24 December 2002 | Continuing ActivityCite this Report
Tungurahua Ecuador	During 18-22 December, emissions of steam, gas, and ash continued at Tungurahua. Plumes rose to ~1 km above the volcano. Sources: Instituto Geofísico-Escuela Politécnica Nacional (IG), Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)

Weekly Reports Archive

Since the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report began in November 2000, there have been 18,793 individual reports over 1,160 weeks (average of 16 per week) on 329 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)