Tsunami News
JUNE 2005 - March 2006
Barren volcano active again
a number of news items on the activity of Barren island volcano in the Andaman Sea.
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Pictures by DENIS GILES
received via Dr. SIMRON JIT SINGH
Text and maps by The Andaman Association
2 Jun 2005
Following the major earthquake of 26 December 2005 there has been a great deal of tectonic activity in the general area, including renewed volcanic activity on Barren island volcano which had been relatively quiet since 1995.
Barren island volcano is one of India's only two active volcanoes (the other is Narcondam island volcano).
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March 2006
The Barren Island volcano is still very active. The central cone has grown by 50 m (165 ft) in height since volcanic activity resumed in May 2005 and lava flows have covered the entire north-western slopes of the island, severely damaging the only convenient landing site.
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from TAPAS KUMAR CHAKRABORTY
tapaschakra@rediffmail.com
Received from KALPAVRIKSH
Mr. Pankaj Sekhsaria
Apt. 5, Sri Dutta Krupa
908 Deccan Gymkhana,
Pune 411004
Tel: 020 - 25654239 / 25675450
E-mail: pankaj@leadindia.org
Been in Barren Island twice, in 1991 March and 1994 December.
Its interesting now to study if the present eruption hasd anything to do with the earthquake/tsunami. For last 11 years, tBarrenisland volcano was quiet.
I would be interested to know if the animal life of the island is in jeopardy.No human beings ever lived there but the vegetation of the island camouflages a population of goats,jungle fowls and some unknown birds. What is happening to them?
Also, someone should assess the impact of the eruptions on the aquatic life near the sea surrounding the island.
Threats to flora and fauna notwithstanding, it was a fearful but pleasant sight to watch Barren exploding, gushing out hot lava all over the island's western side.
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from THE DAILY TELEGRAMS, Port Blair
Received from KALPAVRIKSH
Mr. Pankaj Sekhsaria
Apt. 5, Sri Dutta Krupa
908 Deccan Gymkhana,
Pune 411004
Tel: 020 - 25654239 / 25675450
E-mail: pankaj@leadindia.org
30 May 2005
Fresh volcanic eruptions have been detected by Coast Guard personnel at Barren Island, 140 kms north -ast of Port Blair. Coast Guard ship Sagar and Dornier aircraft on patrol in Andaman and Nicobar seas have reported fresh eruption of lava and smoke on May 28 from the only live volcano in India on Barren Island, a Coast Guard release said here today.
The island, an uninhabited place, is accessible only to Coast Guard and naval ships maintaining regular patrol in the area, it said. The volcano was dormant during the last few years and there was no volcanic activity even after earthquake/tsunami that struck the Indian coastal areas on 26 December 2004.
The eruption appears to be intermittent with smoke and flames being seen frequently.
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by PARAMITA ROUTRAY
parimita_r@yahoo.com
Received from KALPAVRIKSH
Mr. Pankaj Sekhsaria
Apt. 5, Sri Dutta Krupa
908 Deccan Gymkhana,
Pune 411004
Tel: 020 - 25654239 / 25675450
E-mail: pankaj@leadindia.org
30 May 2005
A volcano on a tiny uninhabited island in tsunami-hit Andaman and Nicobar archipelago has started spewing smoke, dust and lava more than a decade since its last eruption.
An Indian coast guard ship sighted a thick plume of smoke on Saturday as it came close to Barren Island and authorities said they were monitoring the situation and had informed the state-run Geological Survey of India.
"There is smoke intermittently coming out from its crater and flames or lava have also been also sighted," Coast Guard spokesman, Commander Subodh Kumar said.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are situated on an undersea fault that continues to nearby Indonesia. The island chain has experienced hundreds of aftershocks following the powerful undersea earthquake that caused the Asian tsunami.
More than 430 people were killed and at least 3,000 are still missing after the tsunami slammed into the Andamans on December 26 last year.
The first recorded eruption on Barren Island took place in 1787. There have been many eruptions since then, the last being in December 1994.
The three-km (two-mile) wide island has sparse foliage that is eaten by goats that live there.
It is India's only active volcano, with a craterr 1.6 km wide (1 mile) and is located 135 km (85 miles) northeast of Port Blair
Damage on North Sentinel Island
Picture from European Space Agency
Jun 2005
This Envisat Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) multitemporal composite image highlights coastal destruction - including damaged coral reefs - on North Sentinel Island, home of the isolated Sentineli Negrito tribe, the world's most isolated people.
Radar images measure surface roughness rather than reflected light. The colour in the image comes from combining two separate ASAR images acquired on different dates in order to highlight differences between them. The yellow (combining red and green) is matched to a 3 June 2004 acquisition while the blue is matched to a post-tsunami acquisition on 30 December 2004. North Sentinel Island is home to a small indigenous tribe that refuses contact with the outside world. They are reported to have survived the severe damage done to the island.
For maps and satellite photographs of damage done to North Sentinel island see our Tsunami maps.
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