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Volcanic eruption darkens skies over Northern Marianas
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-04-07 14:21

A powerful eruption sent smoke 50,000 feet (15,240 metres) into the air, darkening skies over the Northern Marianas Islands as aircraft were warned to steer clear of Anatahan Island where the volcano is located.

Residents said the sky was as dark as night although it was only morning.

This image released by NASA Tuesday April 5, 2005 a thick cloud of ash erupts from the Anatahan Volcano in this Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image collected on April 5, 2005. According to the Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center, a series of low-level eruptions starting on April 4 have created this plume. The Anatahan Volcano erupted again Wednesday morning, shooting a thick plume of ash 50,000 feet into the air and darkening the skies over this tiny U.S. territory in the Pacific. [AP]

The volcano on uninhabited Anatahan had been emitting ash and smoke at a low level since January but its activity rapidly intensified late Tuesday and peaked early Wednesday.

The US Air Force Weather Agency said the ash plume reached 50,000 feet and extended about 250 nautical miles in an east-southeast direction.

The Emergency Management Office (EMO) placed Anatahan off limits, and said while the volcano was not currently dangerous to air traffic "conditions may change rapidly, and aircraft should pass upwind of Anatahan or beyond 10 nautical miles downwind."

An undated photograph taken from the Northern Marianas website shows the Anatahan island. A powerful eruption sent smoke 50,000 feet (15,240 metres) into the air, as airplanes were warned to steer clear of Anatahan Island where the volcano is located. [AFP/File]

Residents on Rota, Tinian and Saipan were warned to expect fallouts of volcanic ash, and people with respiratory ailments were advised to stay indoors.

The EMO also recommended all schools close due to the "health hazards from the ash and volcanic smog caused by the major volcanic eruption of Anatahan".

Anatahan erupted from May 2003 for lasted six weeks. A second eruption developed in April last week and continued until late July, while the present activity started on January 6 this year.

Anatahan is a 33 square kilometre (13 square miles) island, 128 kilometres (80 miles) north of here and just over 322 kilometres (200 miles) north of Guam. It is around 2,250 kilometres (1,400 miles) south of Tokyo.

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