Volcano Eruption In NZ: 16 Dead, 28 Injured, 2 Missing

[Costa Fierro]

What it says on the tin. The link is to a live thread where there'll be a civil defence update at 5:30pm.

Long story short, White Island, a volcanic island 48 kilometres in the Bay of Plenty off the central north coast of the North Island erupted this afternoon six days after GeoNet reported that it showed signs of increasing activity (above its usual activity, it's a permanently active volcano). The island is a well known tourist destination as it is home to an old sulphur mine, and many tourists visit every day to see this and steam vents on the island up close. At least 100 50 people were believed to be on the island at the time of the eruption, and at a post-cabinet press briefing, the Prime Minister said she was aware of people who were injured and unaccounted for.

Newstalk ZB and other media reports are quoting St John New Zealand who said they received reports of up to 20 injuries, including several people reported to be critically injured.

Reddit thread with relevant news sources.

I hope that no fatalities occurred during this eruption but given the unpredictability and explosiveness, it's likely that there may be. Sincerest best wishes to all those who may be affected by this.

Updates:

• The number of people on the island at the time of the eruption is approximately 47.
• Three people have been discharged from hospital, 28 remain in hospitals in Australia and New Zealand, 11 of them critically.
• 16 people are dead.
• Two are unaccounted for.

[Bombadil]

I'm curious as to why there's no mechanism in place that given activity rises above normal levels they close the island off to tourists.

Hope everyone's ok though.

[Costa Fierro]

I'm curious as to why there's no mechanism in place that given activity rises above normal levels they close the island off to tourists.

Hope everyone's ok though.

I'm not sure myself. It was six days ago when GeoNet said they'd noticed the first signs of increased activity and most of the time it's just smaller eruptions.

Also the first people have been brought back from the island.

[Neu California]

Per The Beeb, there was a group of tourists inside the rim moments before it erupted.

Even if they got out before it erupted, could they have gotten to safety quickly enough?

[Costa Fierro]

Per The Beeb, there was a group of tourists inside the rim moments before it erupted.

Even if they got out before it erupted, could they have gotten to safety quickly enough?

I doubt it. The island is only a couple of kilometres across and most of it is very steep. Chances are they'd have been caught up in the ash cloud, if not the eruption itself.

Not sure where the main tourist landing places are. The main direction was eastwards.

[Rojava Free State]

Whenever I get drunk, something bad happens to a large amount of people.

The rule was not broken tonight in that regard

[Costa Fierro]

Police believe there may be fewer than 50 people were on White Island at the time of the eruption.

[Costa Fierro]

Some videos aboard one of the tourist boats at the time of the eruption.

[Galloism]

May as few be injured/killed as possible, and as many as possible rescued.

Good luck, New Zealand.

[Costa Fierro]

Updated the OP and the title to include the latest information. Police have confirmed one person has died from this afternoon's eruption, and they say based on the information they have there is likely to be more. 23 people have been evacuated from the island, and an undisclosed number still remain unaccounted for.

Although a search and rescue operation is underway no teams can land on the island as it is too dangerous for rescue personnel.

[Bear Stearns]

KA-BLAMO!

[Samudera Darussalam]

A volcanic island? I hope the eruption won't trigger a tsunami. Nevertheless, may the number of victims stay as low as possible.

[Costa Fierro]

A volcanic island? I hope the eruption won't trigger a tsunami. Nevertheless, may the number of victims stay as low as possible.

Yes. White Island is part of the volcanic field/chain that runs up the middle of the North Island and includes other dormant/active volcanoes and the Taupo Caldera, one of the few supervolcanoes in the world (and still dormant).

Unfortunately the victims count will very likely rise. The latest news is that 27 people are still unaccounted for on the island, and of the 23 evacuated, seven are in a critical condition. Australian media is reporting that 24 Australians were on the island at the time of the eruption.

[Bombadil]

A lot of people were from a particular cruise liner, and I expect when this settles down that cruise liner will be sued for taking tourists to an island with a volcano that was showing increased activity.

[Costa Fierro]

A lot of people were from a particular cruise liner, and I expect when this settles down that cruise liner will be sued for taking tourists to an island with a volcano that was showing increased activity.

Not sure a this stage, but probably unlikely. New Zealand doesn't have that kind of litigation culture.

Updated the OP to include the revised death toll from one to five fatalities. The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) has mobilised one P-3K Orion which has conducted a surveillance flight over the island, and two NH-90 helicopters, which have flown to Whakatane. Additionally the HMNZS Wellington has also been deployed.

The New Zealand Police have halted their search and rescue operations due to the dangers presented by ash and sulphur on the island, and it's unsure as to when they will be able to reach the island.

[Radiatia]

This is pretty horrifying. I used to live in the region, and White Island erupting is nothing new - but it's the first time I've heard of tourists being trapped there at the time.

I'll be interested to see what comes of this later on. It's always a risk when you visit White Island (it's not a place that people go to sunbathe - people know they're visiting an active volcano), but perhaps we have to ask whether these risks were fully taken into consideration.

For now we just have to hope for a minimum of casualties - although already I'm not liking what I'm hearing with 5 dead at time of writing.

[Radiatia]

A volcanic island? I hope the eruption won't trigger a tsunami. Nevertheless, may the number of victims stay as low as possible.

I think the tsunami risk from this is pretty low - White Island erupts every couple of years, so the eruption side of things is nothing unusual. What's unusual, and tragic here is that it's happened while tourists were on the island.

[Samudera Darussalam]

A volcanic island? I hope the eruption won't trigger a tsunami. Nevertheless, may the number of victims stay as low as possible.

I think the tsunami risk from this is pretty low - White Island erupts every couple of years, so the eruption side of things is nothing unusual. What's unusual, and tragic here is that it's happened while tourists were on the island.

I see. Hoping here for the authorities - or others who may be able - to rescue the stranded people there asap.

[Costa Fierro]

I think the tsunami risk from this is pretty low - White Island erupts every couple of years, so the eruption side of things is nothing unusual. What's unusual, and tragic here is that it's happened while tourists were on the island.

I see. Hoping here for the authorities - or others who may be able - to rescue the stranded people there asap.

It's unlikely that anyone else has survived.

[Samudera Darussalam]

I see. Hoping here for the authorities - or others who may be able - to rescue the stranded people there asap.

It's unlikely that anyone else has survived.

The situation looks grim, so I'm not really surprised. Sulphur in high concentration can be deathly enough.

[An Alan Smithee Nation]

The number of people missing is concerning, the death toll could be much higher.

[Kowani]

The number of people missing is concerning, the death toll could be much higher.

Probably is, being honest.

[Major-Tom]

It's not looking great, this is truly tragic.

What I don't understand is why they were told the island was safe. The volcano is said to have erupted several times since 2016, the tour companies never once thought "this could be a problem?" Fuck.

[Aeritai]

It's not looking great, this is truly tragic.

What I don't understand is why they were told the island was safe. The volcano is said to have erupted several times since 2016, the tour companies never once thought "this could be a problem?" Fuck.

I guess money outweighs the lives of tourists.

[Costa Fierro]

It's not looking great, this is truly tragic.

What I don't understand is why they were told the island was safe. The volcano is said to have erupted several times since 2016, the tour companies never once thought "this could be a problem?" Fuck.

The principal problem with White Island is that it is permanently active, that means that instead of being dormant, there's increased and decreased periods of activity. GeoNet scientists, who were the ones monitoring the activity on White Island (and also monitor all of New Zealand's dormant and active volcanoes) said that they had noticed increased activity but it was within what they had observed before and what they were expecting, and they made the note that eruptions, including steam, mud, etc. often happened without warning.

Small eruptions happen often, nothing on this scale has happened in a good two decades.