The alert level for a volcano below New Zealand’s biggest lake was raised from zero to one on Tuesday after almost 700 small earthquakes were detected below it. The Taupo volcano caused the largest eruption on Earth in the past 5,000 years when it exploded 1,800 years ago. This is the first time that its alert level has been raised.
New Zealand scientists on Tuesday increased the alert level for the volcano below the country’s biggest lake.
A supervolcano’s alert level has been raised from 0 to 1 for the first time today, following a series of small earthquakes. Scientists in New Zealand have emphasized that despite their concerns, the chance of an eruption of North Island’s Taupō volcano “remains very low”.
The volcanic alert system is based on six escalating levels of unrest
The volcanic alert system is based on six escalating levels of unrest. However, Geonet notes that eruptions may occur at any level, and levels may not move in sequence as activity can change rapidly. While many of them were too weak to be felt on land, the largest was a 4.5-magnitude quake on September 10.
However, GeoNet said that today was the first time it had raised the Taupo Volcano alert level, adding: “The earthquakes and deformation could continue for the coming weeks or months”.
The eruption was the largest on the planet in the past 5,000 years
The Taupo volcano spewed more than 100 cubic kilometers of material into the atmosphere when it last erupted around 200 BCE. It devastated a large area of New Zealand’s central North Island in a period before human habitation. Geonet says the eruption was the largest on the planet in the past 5,000 years.
New Zealand straddles the boundary between the Pacific and Australian tectonic plates and experiences significant volcanism and earthquakes. In 2019, White Island, as known as Whakaari, suddenly erupted, spewing steam and ash, killing 22 people and seriously injuring 25, mostly tourists.