KIDS RUN FOR THEIR LIVES; "I thought I was going to die"
22ND NOVEMBER 2012 KIDS RUN FOR THEIR LIVES
Yesterday afternoon school kids and tourists ran for their lives at the reports that a massive eruption was taking place on the very mountain they were on.
Yesterday Mount Tongariro erupted for the second time this year; 6th of August 2012 the first this year just 100 years from the last eruption took place.
No injuries or deaths but the eruption was big enough to scare school children who were two hours in on a tramping trip up the Mount Tongariro.
Buses were waiting at the bottom for the frightened school children of Tamatea Intermediate School.
The school children were reported safe and well.
Flights were disrupted yesterday afternoon and even today more flights are to be interrupted, cancelled and delayed.
Air New Zealand reported late last night that “Ten services in and out of Taupo, Rotorua and Gisborne have been cancelled at this stage; however, the airline will continue to assess the situation as the morning progresses. Some early flights from other regional airports will also be affected as aircraft will need to be repositioned following yesterday’s disruptions." - AIR NEW ZEALAND
Air New Zealand is continuing to work closely with the Civil Aviation Authority, the MetService and other authorities to keep up to date with ash movement and forecasts”
Many flights including flights from New Plymouth have been cancelled due to the eruption the eruption also contributed to New Plymouth Airport being closed early.
Meanwhile as the eruption took place it hit scientists by surprise.
NO WARNING TOOK PLACE; Dribble NZ News -- Michael R
There was no warning for scientists’ and normally before an eruption is to take place normally an earthquake would strike or pressure would rise significantly but this never happened. When we found out the Mount Tongariro erupted again this year we couldn’t believe our eyes.
Normally when an eruption takes place scientists’ have around thirty minutes notice which allows DOC to alert trampers and put alarms up but this never happened.
Residents from nearby were wondering if they should start to get packed one elderly said to Dribble NZ News “I was scared when I saw the mountain, there was no noise, I had no warning” she said “I was very worried and started cleaning up my house and packed my car up so I could leave in a hurry If I had too”.
“The news came on within minutes of Mount Tongariro erupting and I just was done founded because I had no idea”.
RESIDENTS ALARMED
Lake Rotoaira resident Robyn Bennett said there was a big, black ash cloud over her house, which was about a kilometre from the eruption site.
"It's just blew her stack," she said.
She said the air smelled of sulphur.
"It's hard to breathe if you go outside, it's pushing out quite heavily." Bennett said she didn't hear the eruption but it looked like a new vent had formed in front of a previous eruption crater. The ash cloud was moving east towards Napier and Taupo.
Ann Lambert, owner of the Rainbow Motel at Tokaanu, near Turangi, said she had not heard any noise, unlike the previous time Tongariro erupted when there had been a "huge loud noise".
"We weren't aware it had happened. We just looked up and saw it," she said.
"It's just a grey cloud at the moment ... It's not as imposing as the last time."
Kathleen Konui, who lives at Otukou Marae "just below" the mountain, said she had heard a sound like a shotgun going off.
"The mountain was all covered with white smoke," she said.
In the hour or so since then the air had cleared, although she could still see some smoke coming from about four holes on the mountain.
"I'm standing here now looking at them."
The sky was too hazy for her to be able to see a plume from the eruption.
At 1.30am yesterday morning a New Zealand Couriers truck driver reported a strong smell of sulphur on the Desert Road while Motuoapoa resident Cindy Greaney said she noticed an "obvious smell of sulphur" at 6am.
HISTORY REPEATS
This is the second eruption this year. The Te Maari crater erupted on August 6, the first time in more than 100 years.
The eruption, on August 6, widened and deepened the crater and reactivated vents which had been covered up in the 116 years since it last erupted in 1896.
Ruapehu has also been active recently but has not erupted. Pressure was building under the volcano and there was an increased likelihood of an eruption, GNS said last week.
The volcanoes are close to each other but scientists did not believe that the activity at both volcanoes was related.
However, they couldn't exclude the possibility, GNS volcanologist Nico Fournier said earlier this week.
"We don't have evidence at the moment that the activity of the two volcanoes is related," Fournier said. "But we can't exclude it entirely."
GNS volcanologists were researching if activity at the two volcanoes was connected and also were looking at the relationship between earthquakes and volcanic activity.
A series of earthquakes rattled the ground beneath Tongariro in the weeks leading up to the August eruption and another series of quakes have shaken the ground beneath Ruapehu in the last few weeks.
NEWS SPECIALS, ALL DAY LONG: Dribble NZ News -- Michael R
Yesterday ONE News and 3NEWS all went to live breaking news segments as reported flyed in of the eruption on Mount Tongariro. Campbell Live of 3News took to the special on TV3 and brang in extensive coverage leading up from the eruption including ONE News who were quickly live to the mountain with first eye reports and live pictures of the mountain.
Dribble NZ News started their live coverage with you at around 5pm over infonews.co.nz, they then kept doing live updates threw out the night until 6am this morning.
Reporters arrived at the mountain and at 6pm both ONE News and 3NEWS both reported live at the start of the news hour with the latest developing news on Mount Tongariro and the eruption which took scientists by storm.
Geo net has said they will be monitoring Mount Ton
Follow live updates after Mount Tongariro erupted yesterday afternoon:
LIVE UPDATES: till 8am
6:00am: Updates start till 8am today
6:00am: News article made for the 22nd of November 2012
Dribble NZ News; Several reporters