MORONI, Nov 25: White ash blanketed the Comoros capital on Friday after the Mount Karthala volcano erupted for the second time this year, spewing smoke and cinders over the Indian Ocean nation’s main island of Grand Comore.
Officials said there was no sign that late Thursday’s eruption had resulted in lava flows, but authorities announced precautions to deal with potential health hazards caused by ash and possible gas emissions.
“There was an explosion at the top of the Karthala volcano on Thursday night,” said Abbas Mhadjou, the director general of semi-autonomous Grand Comore’s interior ministry.
“The explosion was confined to the summit and there was no lava,” he said after meeting scientists from the Mount Karthala Observatory to assess the impact of the eruption.
Observatory chief Hamid Soule said vulcanologists believed the brief eruption had been of the “phreatic-magmatic” type created by the pressure when boiling hot magma comes into contact with water and produces steam.
CLOSURE ORDERED: The authorities ordered Moroni’s central market and schools closed. UN personnel on the island were advised to prepare for any eventuality, including possible evacuation.
Well after dawn, the sun was still not visible in Moroni, 40kms southwest of Mount Karthala, and witness said the few people venturing outside covered their noses and mouths to avoid inhaling ash.
Streets and buildings all took on a dirty white color as the gritty ash continued to rain down on the capital hours after the eruption, forcing motorists to use headlights during normally daylight hours, they said.—AFP
