Latest Volcanic ash Stories

QUITO, Ecuador (Reuters) - Rescuers on Friday searched for four people believed buried under rocks spewed by Ecuador's Tungurahua volcano, which forced thousands from their homes and killed one man in an eruption a day earlier. Thousands of villagers fled on Thursday after molten rock and ash enveloped homes in several farming hamlets tucked in at the foot of the volcano. Tungurahua, which means "throat of fire" in native Quichua language and is located 80 miles south of the capital...

By Supriyatin MOUNT MERAPI, Indonesia (Reuters) - Two men trapped in a bunker by debris from Indonesia's Mount Merapi volcano have died, disaster management officials said on Friday. The bunker where the two men had taken shelter was inadequate, vulcanologist Triyani told Reuters from the ancient royal center of Yogyakarta, which is 440 km (270 miles) east of Jakarta and is the nearest city to Merapi. "The first person was in a singed condition because of hot steam," regency disaster...

By Benny SiahayaMOUNT MERAPI, Indonesia -- Hot clouds from Indonesia's Mount Merapi dissipated on Thursday, a day after spreading far enough to blanket villages with ash and prompting authorities to put the volcano back on top alert again.Merapi, which is in central Java near the ancient royal city of Yogyakarta, is considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the Pacific "Ring of Fire." It has threatened a major eruption for weeks, forcing thousands of people living nearby to...

By Jalil Hamid MOUNT MERAPI, Indonesia (Reuters) - In the shadow of Mount Merapi, a 30-year-old woman selling snacks to tourists visiting the rumbling Indonesian volcano says business has never been this bad. Tourists who once thronged the area are too frightened to trek to Babadan, one of Merapi's observation points, just 4.5 km (3 miles) from the peak of the restive mountain. "I used to get 100 customers during weekends, but it's too quiet now," said Ngatini, a mother of two, sitting...

By Richard C. LewisSOUTH KINGSTOWN, Rhode Island (Reuters) - Scientists are unearthing an Indonesian village buried nearly two centuries ago by the largest volcanic eruption in recorded history to learn how fast volcanic eruptions can turn deadly.Two years ago, a team of scientists from the University of Rhode Island, the University of North Carolina and the Indonesian Directorate of Volcanology began digging up the village of Tambora, which was buried by a volcanic eruption in 1815.The...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Ash from a steadily erupting volcano in south-central Alaska wafted slowly toward the southern Kenai Peninsula and grounded flights to and from Kodiak Island on Monday. Scientists reported that hot, gaseous pyroclastic flows were seen coursing down the volcano's slopes.Augustine Volcano's eruption at 6:48 a.m. marked the fourth straight day of eruptions and generated an ash plume reaching almost five miles into the skies above Cook Inlet.The ash was moving east and...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A volcano on an uninhabited island off the coast of Alaska erupted again on Tuesday, shooting ash miles (km) into the air, a scientist at the Alaska Volcano Observatory said.The eruption from the Augustine volcano, which is about 175 miles southwest of Anchorage, sent a cloud of ash 8.5 miles above sea level. It was the ninth eruption since the volcano rumbled to life last week.The National Weather Service issued advisories of ash fall, which poses a risk to people with...

SEATTLE (Reuters) - A rock fall at Mount Saint Helens caused a large gray cloud of dust to appear above the volcano on Tuesday, but there was no sign of increased seismic activity. Seismic levels at Mount Saint Helens, which came back to life last year by emitting steam and ash, are "amazingly regular," said Seth Moran, a seismologist at the U.S. Geological Survey. Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980 and killed 57 people and was mostly dormant until September 2004, when new magma...

In September 9 story headlined "Scientists find growing land bulge in Oregon," please read in first paragraph, "A large, slow-growing volcanic bulge in Western Oregon," instead of "A large, slow-growing volcanic bulge in Eastern Oregon." A corrected story follows: By Teresa Carson PORTLAND, Oregon (Reuters) - A large, slow-growing volcanic bulge in Western Oregon is attracting the attention of seismologists who say that the rising ground could be the beginnings of a volcano or simply...

PORTLAND, Oregon -- A large, slow-growing volcanic bulge in Western Oregon is attracting the attention of seismologists who say that the rising ground could be the beginnings of a volcano or simply magma shifting underground.Scientists said that the 100 square-mile (260 sq-km) bulge, first discovered by satellite, poses no immediate threat to nearby residents."It is perfectly safe for anyone over there," said Michael Lisowski, geophysicist at the United States Geological Survey's...