Philippines’ most active volcano Mayon shows signs of unrest; volcanic earthquakes increasing

October 9th, 2009 Montserrat volcano spews ash, residents wear masksSAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Rock falls from a spewing volcano stirred up more volcanic ash Friday on the tiny Caribbean island of Montserrat, which lost half its population after a devastating eruption last decade. Dozens of small earthquakes accompanied ash plumes that have billowed up 20,000 feet (6,000 meters) this week, prompting officials to distribute masks to residents, said James White Jr., acting director of the Disaster Management Coordination Agency.

October 5th, 2009 Montserrat volcano shoots plume of ash into skySAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The volcano on the Caribbean island of Montserrat shot a plume of ash more than two miles (three kilometers) into the sky Monday, lightly dusting the small Caribbean island. The venting by the Soufriere Hills volcano has been accompanied by more than 30 tiny earthquakes since Sunday night, according to Paul Cole, director of the Montserrat Volcano Observatory.

September 21st, 2009 SYDNEY - A scientist has said that a volcanic eruption is "well overdue" in Australia from the past 3,000 years and there are hundreds of volcanoes that could cause trouble, from South Australia and Victoria through to Queensland. According to a report by Fairfax Digital Network, Melbourne geologist Bernie Joyce has made the warning.

September 18th, 2009 LONDON - A team of geologists is trying to gather data in an attempt to understand how global warming will increase the explosivity of volcanic eruptions. As increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels warm the planet, the problems associated with melting ice won't just raise sea-levels; they will also uncap volcanoes.

September 7th, 2009 LONDON - A team of archaeologists has solved the ancient mystery of why the odd-looking statues on the Easter Island statues wear red hats. Up to one thousand years ago, the islanders started putting giant red hats on the statues.

September 6th, 2009 Nicaragua's San Cristobal volcano spews ashes, gasMANAGUA, Nicaragua — Nicaragua's San Cristobal volcano has let off a series of explosions, spewing gases and showering ash on nearby towns. There are no reports of injuries or damage.

August 15th, 2009 WASHINGTON - NASA scientists have placed about a dozen monitoring 'spiderbots' inside the volcanic crater in Mount St Helens in the US, which are high-tech devices that can detect an impending eruption. Mount St. Helens is one of the most active volcanoes in the US.

August 11th, 2009 LONDON - NASA scientists have developed a network of volcano sensors known as 'spiderbots' that can automatically communicate with each other, and placed them inside Mount St Helens in the US. Mount St. Helens is an active stratovolcano located in Skamania County, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States.

July 4th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study has determined that glaciers are the reason behind seismic activity and earthquakes in Iceland. The study was carried out by Kristin Jonsdottir, Roland Roberts, Veijo Pohjola, Bjorn Lund, Zaher Hossein Shomali, Ari Tryggvason, and Reynir Boovarsson from the Department of Earth Science, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.

June 9th, 2009 BOGOTA - Thousands of people have been evacuated after a volcano erupted in southwestern Colombia. The Galeras Volcano erupted twice in the past two days.

May 5th, 2009 Scientists: another Mount Redoubt eruption likelyANCHORAGE, Alaska — Geologists in Alaska say the Mount Redoubt volcano may be getting ready to awaken after being relatively quiet for more than a month. Scientists at the Alaska Volcano Observatory say activity at the volcano about 100 miles southwest of Anchorage suggests a significant explosive event is likely with days — although that's not certain.

May 4th, 2009 Alaska volcano shows increased unrestANCHORAGE, Alaska — Mount Redoubt showed increased unrest Sunday as the volcano continued to rumble and grumble and produced a substantial ash and steam plume. On Sunday, scientists said there was a marked increase of seismicity at the volcano about 100 miles southwest of Anchorage.

May 4th, 2009 At least 20 dead as storm batters PhilippinesLEGAZPI, Philippines — Rescuers dug up six more bodies in a remote village where a landslide buried a dozen houses in the northeastern Philippines, raising the death toll left by a tropical storm to at least 20, officials said Monday. Army troops, police and villagers unearthed the bodies overnight from a huge mound of mud and debris that cascaded down a mountain and buried 12 houses as residents slept early Saturday, officials said.

May 3rd, 2009 At least 11 dead as storm batters PhilippinesLEGAZPI, Philippines — A tropical storm set off landslides and swamped farmland in the northeastern Philippines, leaving at least 11 people dead and nine others missing, officials said Sunday. Rescuers recovered the bodies of nine people, including two children, from piles of mud and debris that cascaded into a coastal village from a mountain in Magallanes on Saturday, burying 12 houses as residents slept, regional disaster official Bernardo Alejandro said.

April 24th, 2009 Indonesian volcano spews lava and ash into the skyJAKARTA, Indonesia — Officials say a volcano in central Indonesia is spewing ash and lava hundreds of meters (yards) into the air. But villagers living near Mount Slamet do not appear to be in immediate danger.