Seismic activity '12 times stronger' than before Whakaari/White Island eruption, volcanologist warns

December 12, 2019

Three days on, GNS volcanologist Brad Scott says it’s still not safe for people to return to the island.

Three days on from the Whakaari/White Island eruption, the data shows it's still not safe for people to return to the island, a volcanologist warns.

GNS's Brad Scott didn't mince his words when talking to TVNZ 1's Breakfast this morning.

"The seismic activity we're recording this morning is a factor of 12 stronger than before the eruption occurred on Monday, indicative of potential for an eruption," he says.

Seismic activity picked up at around 4am yesterday, ramping up through the day and night, Mr Scott says.

"What we're seeing from our data coming off the island is a lot stronger activity. That's the information we're feeding back to the responding agencies who are looking at a rescue."

He says they can't predict an eruption at a specific time, but they can work out the likelihood based on the data.

"There's a societal expectation of 2 o'clock on Tuesday - we can't do that, but we can identify the eruption potential window and that's what we've done."

Authorities are on standby waiting for the all-clear to launch a recovery mission to the island, where eight people are believed dead.

Eight others have been confirmed dead by police, as of this morning.

SHARE ME

More Stories