2019 White Island Eruption

 The Volcano

White Island is a one of the most active volcanoes in New Zealand. The volcano is classified as a highly active stratovolcano with an activity rating of 3 out of 5 (Volcano Discovery, 2022). The volcano is located around 50km from North Island in the bay of plenty. Since 1826 this volcano has been active erupting a few times a century (Volcano Discovery, 2022). In 1914 there was a collapse of the crater which threw debris across and in the immediate vicinity of the island which resulted in the destruction of a sulfur mine (Volcano Discovery, 2022). There have been six eruptions in the last twenty-two years from this volcano and there were twenty-six eruptions between the year 1900 and 1999. 

                        Figure 1. Showing the crater of the volcano and all of the toxic gases being emitted.

The Eruption

The eruption happened on December 9, 2019, which resulting in rocks and toxic gasses being spewed around the entire island while the smoke and air plume rose to around twelve-hundred meters into the air (USGS, 2020). During the explosion there was 47 people on the island, the majority being tourist, and of those present 20 died due to the eruption while the rest suffered severe injuries (USGS, 2020). The explosion was officially classified as a hydrothermal explosion of a stratovolcano. Weeks prior to the explosion seismic tremors and SO2 gas emissions were the highest they had been in the three years prior (USGS, 2020). This was enough for scientist to warn of a potential explosion but since the island is privately owned and a large tourist attraction it was not closed. The effects of this are currently being reviewed and used to show the danger of the Yellowstone volcano. Tourism around volcanos is extremely dangerous especially when the volcanos are either highly active or have not erupted for extensive amounts of time. 

    

  Figure 2. Shows tourist to the island capturing photos minutes after the explosion.

Aftermath

The aftermath of this eruption was rather minimal in total geographical and economical damage. The island is isolated and over 50 kilometers away from the mainland, so the eruption did not reach New Zealand, but the large smoke plumes and ash did. However, there was twenty lives lost to this eruption with over twenty-five more severely injured. In the hours and immediate day following the eruption it went from being classified as a level two alert to a level four volcano alert level (Wescott, 2019). This means that vulcanologist was predicting that another eruption following the initial was highly likely to happen. Immediately following the disaster, it was announced that the victims of this terrible disaster was twelve Australians, two permanent Australian residents, one American and one new Zealander. The owner of the island was also fined $1.5 million dollars for not closing off tourism (Wescott, 2019).

Discussion

This eruption caught worldwide attention for a few reasons. The main reason was the death toll of such a small island was very large, this resulted in many arguments against allowing tourism on volcanos and other natural hazards. Another reason it caught the world's attention was because among the victims were people of numerous nationalities. Those present are lucky because in the last hundred and fifty years this eruption was one of the smaller ones to happen. Had the eruption been larger there is a high chance there would not have been any survivors left. There are a few major ways that the impacts of this disaster could have been mitigated. First off, and perhaps the most obvious, is to not allow tourism on active volcano sites. Another way this could have been mitigated was if the owner of the island had listened to the warnings of both the government and independent organizations monitoring the island such as GeoNet (USGS, 2020). GeoNet had been monitoring the island and collecting information on potential eruptions while also warning the owner of the island about the incredibly high tremor levels for around two months prior to the explosion (USGS, 2020). 

Figure 3. Showing an aerial view of the eruption a few hours after it had happened, the volcano is was still spouting ash just not as violently. 

Video

(6) Shocking video shows White Island guide warning tourists of volcano moments before it erupted - YouTube

This video shows tour guides warning of the eruption and video clips of the eruption minutes after it had happened. 

References

“The December 2019 Hydrothermal Explosion at White Island (Whakaari), New Zealand, and Its Lessons for Yellowstone.” The December 2019 Hydrothermal Explosion at White Island (Whakaari), New Zealand, and Its Lessons for Yellowstone | U.S. Geological Survey, https://www.usgs.gov/news/december-2019-hydrothermal-explosion-white-island-whakaari-new-zealand-and-its-lessons.

Westcott, Ben, et al. “Volcano Eruption on New Zealand's White Island Leaves at Least Five Dead.” CNN, Cable News Network, 9 Dec. 2019, https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/08/asia/new-zealand-white-island-eruption-intl-hnk/index.html.

“White Island Volcano: What We Know about the Victims.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 17 Dec. 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/15/white-island-volcano-what-we-know-about-the-victims.

“White Island.” Volcano World, 18 Dec. 2018, https://volcano.oregonstate.edu/white-island.

“White Island.” VolcanoDiscovery, https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/white-island.html.