Sydney (Australia), 20 Sep. The New Zealand Geological Survey raised the alert for the Taupo volcano on Tuesday, after recording about 700 earthquakes in the lake formed by the volcano’s caldera, which was the largest eruption on Earth in millennia when it last erupted 1,800 years ago.
Geonet said in a statement that alert level 1 (minor volcanic disturbances) – out of a maximum of 6 – is with an “extremely low” possibility of an eruption, although scientists have not ruled out increased activity.
“Smaller volcanic activity is causing current earthquakes and the rupture of the Taupo volcano’s floor”, the central North Island government agency points out, ensuring the tremors last “weeks or months”.
These earthquakes can lead to landslides and soil liquefaction at a depth of 4 to 13 kilometers – the process of turning the ground into a liquid mass -, recalls the company.
On the shores of the lake, about 380 kilometers north of Wellington, are several towns, including the monotonous town of Taupo with a population of 26,000.
In the last 150 years, Taupo has recorded 17 similar and more intense activity without ever erupting.
In 230 AD, the Taupo volcano spewed about 120 cubic kilometers of volcanic material into the atmosphere, making it the largest eruption in the past 5,000 years, according to Geonet.
Because New Zealand sits on the southeastern edge of the Pacific Ring of Fire, there is intense seismic and volcanic activity.
In December 2019, 22 people died and 25 were seriously injured when tour groups visited the Wakkari volcano, also known as White Island, when it erupted. EFE
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