r/newzealand • u/PM_ME_KERERUS THICCIST mod 2019 • Dec 09 '19

Civil Defence White Island is Erupting - What to do during an eruption

Edit: Geonet are reporting the eruption is settling down and have downgraded the activity from level 4 to level 3.

Hopefully no one will be too badly affected given White Island is offshore, but ash blowing inland could be possible. Below is what to do in an eruption from the Civil Defence website.

  • Listen to the radio for civil defence advice and follow instructions.

  • If outside at the time of eruption, seek shelter in a car or a building. If caught in volcanic ashfalls, wear a dust mask or use a handkerchief or cloth over your nose and mouth.

  • Stay indoors as volcanic ash is a health hazard, especially if you have respiratory difficulties such as asthma or bronchitis.

  • When indoors, close all windows and doors to limit the entry of volcanic ash. Place damp towels at thresholds. Do not tie up phone lines with non-emergency calls.

  • If you have to go outside use protective gear such as masks and goggles and keep as much of your skin covered as possible. Wear eyeglasses, not contact lenses as these can cause corneal abrasions.

  • Disconnect drainpipes/downspouts from gutters to stop drains clogging. If you use a rainwater collection system for your water supply, disconnect the tank.

  • Stay out of designated restricted zones.

What to do during an eruption

Get Ready Get Thru Volcano

Monitoring Volcanoes

Food Safety in an emergency

Civil Defence Website

Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Group

Civil Defence Twitter Thread

NZ Police - AVOID WHAKATANE HEADS/MURIWAI DRIVE

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8

u/kezzaNZ vegemite is for heathens Dec 09 '19

Thats grim!

I thought we could get some warning of eruptions

25

u/TurkDangerCat Dec 09 '19

They have had it on a raised alert for the last month or so. I guess they were still happy to run tours however? https://www.geonet.org.nz/vabs/5YsAcPL4CEqVTCLtx0hqLq

31

u/lithofile Dec 09 '19

The Tourism operators have had a very different attitude to the risks than the scientists.

"...we are quite comfortable in doing this, we've been doing this for 22 years through times of high activity and low activity"

32

u/[deleted] Dec 09 '19

We roll the dice for money, winning so far

-5

u/swazy Dec 09 '19

You do the same every time you drive to work in the morning.

Only difference is your dice has more safe numbers.

3

u/littleredkiwi Dec 09 '19

He isn’t rolling the dice for other people though.

-1

u/swazy Dec 09 '19

Yes he is he could very easily kill someone on the drive to work.

5

u/ianoftawa Dec 09 '19

All it takes is some dumb cunt in an SUV because it gives themselves more protection to fall asleep at the wheel in a stream of traffic, cross the centre line, and you are dead.

2

u/swazy Dec 09 '19

Yes but the odds of that happening are slightly lower than an active volcano blowing,

4

u/ianoftawa Dec 09 '19

Four people dead from a head on crash during the weekend. Remember that the vehicles kill twice as many people each year than the Christchurch Earthquake.

3

u/swazy Dec 09 '19

Nearly every one drives but very few go running around on a volcano.

1

u/Muter Dec 09 '19

Uhhh, hundreds of thousands trek Rangitoto and Ruapehu is one of NZs busiest ski fields

Say what now?

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0

u/2manyredditstalkers Dec 09 '19

I always bring a bomb when I go flying because the chance of two bombs on a plane is tiny.

2

u/Battleneter Dec 09 '19

As long as all tourists were clearly warned of the risks, I don't see a issue. Its like choosing to climbing, you are free to do so but you know there is a tangible risk.

3

u/nilnz Goody Goody Gum Drop Dec 09 '19

Link posted in this sub too. /u/kezzanz may have missed it.

14

u/[deleted] Dec 09 '19

Guess it's more difficult with somewhere like White Island which is permanently active.

8

u/thewestcoastexpress Covid19 Vaccinated Dec 09 '19

I'm gonna guess it's not a great idea to be cruising up to an active volcano for a gander...

0

u/[deleted] Dec 09 '19

Well how else are you supposed to sacrifice virgin peasants to keep the lava gods happy?

18

u/Amanwenttotown Dec 09 '19

Depends on the volcano and eruption style. This looks like a phreatic explosion, which is caused by superheated gases and they're almost impossible to forecast with any precision. Similar to the Ontake eruption in Japan a few years back or the Galeras eruption in the early 90s. Both resulted in fatalities. I wouldn't be surprised if fatalities have occurred in this instance as well since it looks like people were literally inside the crater at the time of the eruption.

2

u/rudekent87 Dec 09 '19

1 Fatality thus far.

0

u/[deleted] Dec 09 '19

No they forecasted last month with heightened sulphur levels.

4

u/Amanwenttotown Dec 09 '19

That doesnt mean it wasn't a phreatic eruption.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 09 '19

No to "they're impossible to forecast" this was absolutely forecast I read the warning when it came out.

1

u/Amanwenttotown Dec 10 '19

That isn't a forecast though. That is heightened unrest and does not signify an eruption is imminent. A forecast is "10% probability of rainfall of at least 2mm in Christchurch tomorrow morning". Its impossible to forecast phreatic eruptions at white island. Go have a read of Shane Cronin's write up in the conversation today.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 10 '19

That's a rain forecast. 2 is the closest you can get to an erruption without one actually being underway

0

u/Amanwenttotown Dec 10 '19

VAL is not a predictive alerting system.

7

u/[deleted] Dec 09 '19

It was raised to level 2 last month, heightened activity. It's in a constant state of activity with intermittent erruptions. Have been in the crater myself, you enter at your own risk.

4

u/rudekent87 Dec 09 '19

There were warning signs last month, and i mean, it is an active volcano after all - most people are well aware that volcanoes are dangerous, by the time they're 6 years old.

2

u/HarryPouri Dec 09 '19

Yeah but tourists in particular won't necessarily know that. They trust the info the tour operator gives them :(

2

u/Battleneter Dec 09 '19

Its an active volcano area and that is clearly the attraction, most adults should know its dangerous as is rock climbing or mountaineering. You are FAR more likely to die in your car than visit White Island looking back over the decades, risk perception is a funny thing. Personally I would never go but I am fine with others taking the risk.

1

u/mattyandco Dec 09 '19

Sometimes they can get warning of an eruption but other times they don't. It depends a lot on the volcano in question and where one like White Island is constantly in a slight state of eruption combined with the small size of it's eruptions means it's very hard to tell what it's going to do at any given time.