Alaska’s Mount Redoubt volcano has begun erupting over night, sending smoke billowing some 50,000 feet above sea level.
Alaska’s Mount Redoubt volcano has begun erupting over night, sending smoke billowing some 50,000 feet above sea level. Photo: EPA
Geologists at the Alaska Volcano Observatory said the volcano, which is roughly 100 miles from southwest of Anchorage, erupted three times late on Sunday and early on Monday.
“This is a fairly large eruption, close to the larger cities in Alaska,” said John Power, a geophysicist.
More information: Q & A: Will Mount Redoubt erupt again? (MSNBC)
He said no cities have yet reported any ash fall from the volcano, but he added that it is still early.
Geologists said seismic activity around the volcano has been intense in recent days, and they expect that the volcano would blow soon.
Mount Redoubt, the highest mountain within the largely volcanic Aleutian Range, last erupted nearly 20 years ago. The eruption in 1989 spewed volcanic ash to 45,000 feet and caught a KLM Airlines flight in its plume of smoke, though the flight later landed safely in Anchorage.
Scientists at the Alaska Volcano Observatory warned in late January that eruption was imminent.
Last Updated: 10:23AM GMT 23 Mar 2009
Source: The Telegraph