Ten days after violently awakening, a volcano on the Indian Ocean island of Reunion continued spewing lava on Sunday in what experts called "the eruption of the century."
But the Piton de la Fournaise volcano on eastern Reunion had lulled considerably, and residents remained out of danger.
Tourists and residents have been able to take in the sights of the smouldering lava and magma being tossed as high as skyscrapers.
PHOTO: AFP
"We can call it the eruption of the century," said Zacharie Duputel, a seismologist based at the Volcano Observatory on Reunion island. "We have never observed such a phenomenon."
The eruption resulted in the collapse of the volcano's summit, with magma at times being spewed as high as 200m into the air.
The lava had cut off a national highway as it spurted toward the sea at 60kph, creating clouds of gas as it made contact with water. Sulphur dioxide levels in the gas have not been measured at dangerous levels.
Lava flow had been estimated at three million cubic meters per day.
On Sunday, lava leapt only 10m into the air, according to the observatory. There was less activity within the crater, though entire sections of rock continued to collapse.
Some people with memories of damage caused by previous eruptions were not enjoying the show. Eight houses were destroyed by lava in 1986.
About 100 residents were evacuated from a village in southeastern Reunion on Friday, with some believing they could see lava approaching.
They were allowed to return to their homes two hours later, however. What was believed to be lava turned out to be a forest fire caused by burning ashes.
About a dozen families have decided not to return to their homes anyway, said Guy Riviere, deputy mayor for the eastern city of Saint-Philippe and an agent for the Office of National Forests. He said they planned to return home after the volcano's activity reduced further.
While houses have not been affected, residents continue to hear loud rumbling in addition to seeing the burning forested area.
"The atmosphere is gloomy in the village," Riviere said.
About 300 hectares of primary forest has been destroyed over the past 10 days, and some 30 hectares of palm and vanilla plants have burnt. Timber used for cabinet-making that is not found elsewhere on the island was heavily damaged.
The team behind the long-awaited Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile yesterday published their first images, revealing breathtaking views of star-forming regions as well as distant galaxies. More than two decades in the making, the giant US-funded telescope sits perched at the summit of Cerro Pachon in central Chile, where dark skies and dry air provide ideal conditions for observing the cosmos. One of the debut images is a composite of 678 exposures taken over just seven hours, capturing the Trifid Nebula and the Lagoon Nebula — both several thousand light-years from Earth — glowing in vivid pinks against orange-red backdrops. The new image
Canada and the EU on Monday signed a defense and security pact as the transatlantic partners seek to better confront Russia, with worries over Washington’s reliability under US President Donald Trump. The deal was announced after a summit in Brussels between Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa. “While NATO remains the cornerstone of our collective defense, this partnership will allow us to strengthen our preparedness ... to invest more and to invest smarter,” Costa told a news conference. “It opens new opportunities for companies on both sides of the
ESPIONAGE: The British government’s decision on the proposed embassy hinges on the security of underground data cables, a former diplomat has said A US intervention over China’s proposed new embassy in London has thrown a potential resolution “up in the air,” campaigners have said, amid concerns over the site’s proximity to a sensitive hub of critical communication cables. The furor over a new “super-embassy” on the edge of London’s financial district was reignited last week when the White House said it was “deeply concerned” over potential Chinese access to “the sensitive communications of one of our closest allies.” The Dutch parliament has also raised concerns about Beijing’s ideal location of Royal Mint Court, on the edge of the City of London, which has so
OVERHAUL: The move would likely mark the end to Voice of America, which was founded in 1942 to counter Nazi propaganda and operated in nearly 50 languages The parent agency of Voice of America (VOA) on Friday said it had issued termination notices to more than 639 more staff, completing an 85 percent decrease in personnel since March and effectively spelling the end of a broadcasting network founded to counter Nazi propaganda. US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) senior advisor Kari Lake said the staff reduction meant 1,400 positions had been eliminated as part of US President Donald Trump’s agenda to cut staffing at the agency to a statutory minimum. “Reduction in Force Termination Notices were sent to 639 employees at USAGM and Voice of America, part of a