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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsEleven minutes before the eruption, some of the tourists on White Island are seen walking on the rim
2.00pm: Eleven minutes before the eruption, some of the tourists on White Island are seen walking on the rim of the crater
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7772591/White-Island-volcano-New-Zealands-eruption-leaves-dozens-Australians-feared-missing.html
there were warning signs it was going to erupt
'It showed increased activity for the last few weeks and so we raised the alert level,' GeoNet Project Director Dr Ken Gledhill told a press conference on Monday afternoon.
'It has quietened down, but we can't be certain there won't be another eruption in the next 24 hours.'
Dr Ken Gledhill said it wasn't a 'particularly big eruption' and likened it to the volcano 'clearing its throat'.
'That's why material probably won't make it to mainland New Zealand. It went up about 12,000 feet [3657 metres] into the sky,' he said.
'On the scheme of things for volcanic eruptions, it's not that large. But if you are close to that it is not good.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7771185/The-terrifying-warning-signs-New-Zealands-White-Island-volcano-erupt.html
Rhiannon12866
(206,873 posts)Considering what was known to be happening with the volcano.
Permanut
(5,714 posts)57 people died that day after being warned that the mountain could erupt at any time. All were inside the "Red Zone" considered especially dangerous. About the same size mountain.
LeftInTX
(25,812 posts)This was a very small eruption and tourists should not have been there.
Maru Kitteh
(28,348 posts)How very awful.
benld74
(9,912 posts)DesertRat
(27,995 posts)NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)An impressive spectacle of nature's power... but horrifying too.
I wonder if they were able to outrun it?
Xolodno
(6,412 posts)...Yellowstone and Vesuvius. And if Yellowstone goes off, then were all fucked and doesn't matter where you are.
I've been to plenty of dormant and extinct volcanoes; Shasta, Hood, Crater Lake, Haleakala, St. Helens, Mammoth, and Craters of the Moon. Hoping to hit Lassen next year.
If there were warning signs, then it should have been closed off. Even a small eruption can incinerate people too close to it. Loss of tourist dollars pails in comparison to the loss of life. And if you are a psychopath, then the loss of immediate tourist dollars pails in comparison to future tourist dollars once the volcano settles down.
Retrograde
(10,184 posts)and it last erupted a paltry hundred years ago: I'd hardly consider it extinct, or even very dormant. St. Helens went from dormant to exploding in a very short time, less than a year IIRC. There are some petroglyphs at the Modoc Lava Beds that may depict Shasta or some other nearby peak exploding. There are miles and miles of lava flows in Oregon considered less than a thousand years old. And millions of people live near the Cascade peaks. They may be dormant, but I wouldn't call them extinct.
Kiluaea on Hawai'i is currently erupting: there are tens of thousands of people living on its slopes.
LudwigPastorius
(9,263 posts)they were hiking on the rim of an active volcano.
Maybe it's just me, but even if I was assured by a tour guide that I'd probably be fine, I would consider such a move foolhardy. Lava/superheated steam/and ash is not a thing that I ever need to see up close in my lifetime.
Demovictory9
(32,498 posts)from a distance?
tblue37
(65,552 posts)because they considered it much too dangerous.
HAB911
(8,957 posts)with lives.
What fun!
Demovictory9
(32,498 posts)roamer65
(36,748 posts)USALiberal
(10,877 posts)roamer65
(36,748 posts)Zero.
If you value your life, you shouldnt be there...period. Utter stupidity.
Tipperary
(6,930 posts)Regular tours there would lead one to believe that. I agree with the other poster who responded to you.
Response to roamer65 (Reply #16)
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