News Pacaya and Tungurahua volcanos

[Notebook]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/latin_america/10189054.stm

Thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes as two volcanos erupted in Guatemala and Ecuador.

Unusual for two to go off together?

N.

 

[Urwumpe]

Unusual for two to go off together?

No, only a rare event. Since the Pacaya is one of the most active volcanoes in the world (continuously active since 1965) , you can be sure that he will one day erupt when another volcano erupts.

It is really the Stromboli of Central America:

 

[ar81]

One guatemalan jounalist died. You could see a coworker reporting in tears before cameras after rescue came. It must be shocking to go to work and se a coworker dying and having to talk about it before a camera. Poor people...

A kid in a shelter said it was quite scary sound of explosion.

 

[ex-orbinaut]

Unusual for two to go off together?

I put the same question to my vulcanologist friend about 12 years ago when Pichincha, Tungurahua, and Reventador all went off within weeks of each other here in Ecuador. He said it was hot spots.

http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/hotspots.html

It is not too unusual in volcanic regions. Tungurahua and Sangay (Tungurahua's "neighbor") have been in strombolic activity for years, the latter since as far back as I can remember.

Guayaquil airport is closed all day today with clean up operations, no lives have been reported lost as a result of this event here, yet, and Quito is unaffected.

EDIT:
As for whether Tungurahua and Pacaya events are related, not likely.

 

[Urwumpe]

It must be shocking to go to work and se a coworker dying and having to talk about it before a camera.

Welcome to the reality of journalism. How could you know it, if nobody would tell you about it? As journalist, your duty is to report events, regardless how you feel, or especially about how you feel.

Just like geologists have to climb into craters or onto domes of active volcanoes despite the danger for getting science data sometimes.

 

[ar81]

Here are some images on the journalist...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/mundo/america_latina/2010/05/100528_galeria_erupcion_guatemala.shtml

 

[Notebook]

Tropical storm Agatha.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/latin_america/10191957.stm

Looks like Guatemala is having a rough time.

N.

 

[Sky Captain]

Well, the area around Pacific Ocean is called Ring of Fire for a reason. As far as volcanoes go these two are only small fireworks. I don't want to think what will happen when eventually in some densely populated region there will be major VEI 6 - VEI 7 class explosive eruption like Krakatoa or Tambora.

 

[ex-orbinaut]

Despite the fact that Tugurahua is still letting out a reasonably high volume ash plume, there is not one channel on local TV even taking any notice of it anymore. Guayaquil airport is back in action, and it is business as usual.

Earlier today, the volcano Nevado de Huila in Colombia, south of Santa Fe de Bogota, also erupted and I cannot find one single link pertaining to it. So there it is, they are so common that most of these eruptions are a non event around here.

 

[Notebook]

Dramatic stuff:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/latin_america/10189244.stm

N.