Ruapehu – an Explosive Past Makes for a Safer Future

Ruapehu – an Explosive Past Makes for a Safer Future

Scientists, emergency managers, conservation staff, iwi, and university students will gather at Whakapapa Village

later this week for an event to mark the 20-year anniversary of Mt Ruapehu's 1995-96 eruptions.

The event takes on special significance as this year is also the 40th anniversary of the 1975 Ngauruhoe eruption and the 70th anniversary of the 1945 Ruapehu eruption.

Starting on August 14, the Volcanic Science and Risk Management Workshop will feature a range of science presentations and activities to reflect on two decades of progress in managing eruption hazards and risks in Tongariro National Park.

It will be held at the Tongariro National Park Visitor Centre, Whakapapa Village. The main workshop is scheduled for August 14, and will be followed by associated activities on the Saturday and Sunday.

As part of the programme, a public talk is scheduled for 15 August at 6.30pm at Lorenz’s Bar and Café at the top of the Bruce Road, Whakapapa.

It will be presented by the Director of the Joint Centre for Disaster Research, David Johnston, on the topic of ‘Social impacts of volcanic hazards: looking back to the past and forward to the future.’ The Centre is jointly run by Massey University and GNS Science.

“We believe this is a great opportunity to reflect on two decades of progress in monitoring, scientific understanding, risk management and social science,” Dr Johnston says.

Starting in the winter of 1995, the series of spectacular eruptions at Ruapehu became the biggest volcanic event in New Zealand for 50 years, capturing worldwide media attention. Fortunately the major eruptive activity occurred while the ski areas were closed, so there were no deaths or serious injuries.

Volcano Information Specialist at GNS Science, Brad Scott, says in spite of its picture postcard appearance, Tongariro National Park is a highly active volcanic centre and it would be foolhardy to think of it simply as a benign outdoor playground.

“In 1954 Mount Ngauruhoe produced lava flows and in 1974 and 1975 it produced explosive eruptions,” he said.

“Eruptions from Ruapehu in 1968, 1969, 1971, 1975, 1977, 1988 all produced lahars, as did the 1995-96 eruptions.

“More recently there was the major breakout lahar from the Crater Lake in 2007, which was more hazardous than the 1953 Tangiwai Railway disaster event. Then in 2012 there was an eruption episode from Te Maari Craters on Mount Tongariro, which closed the popular Tongariro Alpine Crossing track for seven months.”

On the plus side, the central North Island volcanoes are better monitored than ever before with seismographs, GPS and web cameras placed throughout the National Park by the EQC-funded GeoNet project, keeping a close watch on the volcanic pulse of the area.

In addition to this, GeoNet’s volcano teams regularly visit active areas such as Ruapehu’s Crater Lake, Ngauruhoe’s crater and the Te Maari craters to collect water samples for analysis and to check temperatures. This is important for tracking long-term trends and picking up early signs of unusual behaviour or volcanic unrest.

The steady flow of monitoring data enables the Department of Conservation and other agencies to respond quickly to manage the risks.

Volcanic Technical Advisor at DOC, Harry Keys, says sudden volcanic events may still pose serious risks to people close to the active vents. But he added that the lessons of the last two decades had led to huge improvements in ability to manage volcanic risks.

ENDS

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