Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

Lava now visible in vents created by eruption on Whakaari/White Island

Rotorua Daily Post
22 Jan, 2020 02:54 AM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Lave from vents created from the eruption can be seen in the photo indicated by the blue arrows. Photo / Geonet

Lave from vents created from the eruption can be seen in the photo indicated by the blue arrows. Photo / Geonet

Whakaari/White Island remains in an elevated state of unrest Geonet has released this afternoon.

In a statement on GeoNet's website, it said lava was now visible in the vents created by the eruption.

However, further explosive eruptions are very unlikely on any given day in the next four weeks.

READ MORE:
• White Island teen survivor Jake Milbank: 'Thank you for your kindness'
• White Island survivor who suffered horrific burns is 'up and alert'
• White Island: American tourists burned in the eruption hopeful they will be home soon
• White Island tragedy a month on: Landings could be off limits under future tours

The Volcanic Alert Level remains at Level 2 and the Aviation Colour Code remains Yellow.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Visual observations last week and Monday show lava has been extruded into the vents created by the December 9 eruption," a statement read.

"In previous bulletins, we proposed that magma was at a very shallow level beneath the floor of the crater, and we now have visual confirmation that this magma has risen to the surface."

When magma reaches the surface, it is called lava.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Apart from minor ash emissions on December 23 and 26, no significantly sustained or strong eruptive activity had been observed since the December 9 eruption.

White Island Aerial view after the volcanic eruption on December 9. Photo / George Novak
White Island Aerial view after the volcanic eruption on December 9. Photo / George Novak

The eruption killed 20 people – including fellow tour guide Hayden Marshall-Inman and teenage Australian tourist Winona Langford, whose bodies have not yet been located.

"Airborne measurements of gas on Monday show they are still at the high levels expected after an eruption, and the vent temperature remains very hot (> 400 C).

"Considering these new observations, we have recalculated the expert judgement of eruption likelihood.

Discover more

Car hits person in Rotorua

23 Jan 01:11 AM
New Zealand

Bodies, investigations, leaks - White Island response behind the scenes

05 Feb 12:31 AM
New Zealand

White Island emergency plan unfinished when volcano erupted

04 Feb 06:57 PM

Mental health team involved in Whakaari response recognised

12 Feb 02:09 AM

"It remains very unlikely (1 per cent chance) that there will be another eruption in any 24-hour period during the next four weeks."

Whakaari/White Island Update: Lava is now visible in the vents created by the eruption. In previous bulletins we...

Posted by GeoNet on Tuesday, 21 January 2020

Although very unlikely, an explosive eruption from the active vent area remains possible and could occur with no precursory activity the statement continued.

"This style of eruption could be driven by the collapse of unstable material behind the vents, or by a marked decrease in gas emissions allowing water from the reforming crater lake or geothermal system to enter the active hot gas vents.

"Should any explosive activity produce an ash cloud, the likelihood of ash affecting the mainland remains low," the statement concluded.

All monitoring equipment on the island is operating and the camera feeds have been re-established on the GeoNet web pages.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua Daily PostUpdated

Caught on tape: Identity finally revealed of Jaguar-driving teen behind CBD rampage

06 Jul 06:00 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

'He's just scared of me': Teen's Māori wards challenge to PM

06 Jul 03:55 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

'Safety risks': Concerns as hospital security guards double as cleaners

05 Jul 10:45 PM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Caught on tape: Identity finally revealed of Jaguar-driving teen behind CBD rampage

Caught on tape: Identity finally revealed of Jaguar-driving teen behind CBD rampage

06 Jul 06:00 AM

Police and footpath pedestrians had to dodge the vehicle to avoid getting run over.

'He's just scared of me': Teen's Māori wards challenge to PM

'He's just scared of me': Teen's Māori wards challenge to PM

06 Jul 03:55 AM
'Safety risks': Concerns as hospital security guards double as cleaners

'Safety risks': Concerns as hospital security guards double as cleaners

05 Jul 10:45 PM
Bid for inquiry into Ōhinemutu sewage spills fails

Bid for inquiry into Ōhinemutu sewage spills fails

05 Jul 06:00 PM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP