Vanuatu Meteorology and Geohazards Department (VMGD) reported that Yasur emitted a substantial ash cloud during 1400-1700 on 12 September based on reports from nearby observers. The plumes drifted SE; VMGD warned that areas around White Sands, 3 km N, may experience impacts from ashfall and gas. The volcano had returned to normal levels by the next day. The Alert Level remained at 2 (the middle level on a scale of 0-4).

Geological Summary. Yasur has exhibited essentially continuous Strombolian and Vulcanian activity at least since Captain Cook observed ash eruptions in 1774. This style of activity may have continued for the past 800 years. Located at the SE tip of Tanna Island in Vanuatu, this pyroclastic cone has a nearly circular, 400-m-wide summit crater. The active cone is largely contained within the small Yenkahe caldera, and is the youngest of a group of Holocene volcanic centers constructed over the down-dropped NE flank of the Pleistocene Tukosmeru volcano. The Yenkahe horst is located within the Siwi ring fracture, a 4-km-wide open feature associated with eruption of the andesitic Siwi pyroclastic sequence. Active tectonism along the Yenkahe horst accompanying eruptions has raised Port Resolution harbor more than 20 m during the past century.

Source: Vanuatu Meteorology and Geohazards Department (VMGD)