Many feared dead as province's most famous volcano erupts without warning
Last updated: 9:29 PM TCT
The people of Azmir were caught by surprise this morning when one of the province's most active volcanoes erupted suddenly. Kaië Ryio'qi, always as temperamental as the god for which it is named, abruptly began spewing out ash and rock as its cone burst open, throwing a plume of smoke and pyroclastic debris several hundred feet up into the air.
Many have been presumed dead as a result of the eruption, which is also likely to severely disrupt air and sea traffic in the area for some time.
Another nearby volcano, Vekh Torsalë, had been venting smoke in recent weeks, but seismologists had not been expecting Kaië Ryio'qi to erupt, despite its colourful history.
"We never ruled out the possibility that it might go up, but we were far more confident in Torsalë," said noted vulcanologist Kaledro Rizuya of the University of Khem, speaking to the Herald. "Everyone around here remembers when Ryio'qi erupted back in '93. Well, the way this sort of thing works - rather like earthquakes - is that they slowly release pressure along a seam. Earthquakes tend to release that pressure in roughly a continuous line. With volcanoes it's a bit harder to predict, even when you have the tell-tale signs like smoke and rising levels of, say, sulphur in groundwater. Sometimes they're just false alarms."
It certainly wasn't a false alarm when Kaië Ryio'qi burst into action this morning. Many locals claimed to have seen warnings in the minutes before the volcano erupted. Pei ti'Sarna was one of them.
"Before he erupted, the Ryioi fell into himself. You could see the land sink and you knew what was happening."
ti'Sarna, a fisherman from the village of Vroi Qernin, was on his boat when the volcano erupted. Another fisherman recorded the eruption on his phone. The video has since gone viral on various internet websites. You can also watch it here.
"It's always been a poor area," commented local councillor Matxü Forsai. "People tend to ignore the building regulations that restrict them to the higher ground, even though the valley is a known lava corridor. The rescue teams have been wonderful so far but even they can't get at the worst-affected areas yet. The monarchy's already promised to help us rebuild, so we've got that going for us, which is nice."
Queen Iressa, whose family are the Marquises of Azmir and Khem, is reportedly travelling to the afflicted region early tomorrow to help in the relief efforts. As aid is already being flown in from all over the Empire, people in Azmir remain hopeful that their lost people will be found.
Esamin Lezalm
Azmir
Photography © Maru Images 2014 | Video courtesy of TrelNet Video