Other Post White Island erupts

[primer]

Police say no survivors are left on White Island after eruption in the Bay of Plenty

Looked like a pyroclastic flow.
2014 it killed 10 miners.

 

[muck]

Who for the love of God enters the crater of an active volcano?

 

[Jake84]

People who enjoy rolling the dice, looking for a rare and awesome photo.

 

[primer]

Heaps.
Big tourist attraction, enough for super cruise ships to book tours of it.
However if there is no civil defense plan to save anyone after an eruption like this?

 

[muck]

People who enjoy rolling the dice, looking for a rare and awesome photo.

Call me callous, but I find it difficult to muster pity for those people.

 

[Jake84]

Call me callous, but I find it difficult to muster pity for those people.

I share the sentiment, wonder why the access to this active volcano is still allowed as well. Let me guess, because that makes for a nice tourist spot and trap for big bucks for the NZ govt?

@primer @TheKiwi @NZM305?

 

[muck]

I share the sentiment,

Ever seen recent images from Mount Everest? The insane queue of people lining up to take a selfie? It's the herd mentality that I abhor, I think. The five-second-smile for a selfie that leads people there. The tragically pathetic wish to impress the people who stayed at home, all the while knowing it's only a facade.

 

[primer]

Vanuatu has an actively erupting Volcano that has visitors everyday. Same as Vesuvius has killed many tourists. North Island's ski fields are on a reliably active volcano. They need atleast to know the real risk but looking at these other places that are still visited one would presume they will let it go on.
Each volcano is eruptively different. It would be wise to restrict any increased activity visits. They placed a shipping container on it for safety. but this kind of eruption made it useless.
The Island is owned by Maori whom ordinarily would place a Tapu on it preventing visits.

 

[Gaz]

I was going to climb whats described as an active volcano (Though I don't believe to this degree) in Peru about ten years ago. In the end, I actually fell seriously ill before I could do it.

If I go back, yeah - I'll try and do it again.

 

[primer]

Exactly.. for some it would increase the desire to visit.

 

[Jake84]

Ever seen recent images from Mount Everest? The insane queue of people lining up to take a selfie? It's the herd mentality that I abhor, I think. The five-second-smile for a selfie that leads people there. The tragically pathetic wish to impress the people who stayed at home, all the while knowing it's only a facade.

Ultimately it gets rid of stupid wealthy people and I honestly don’t give two crap about them.

For merely different reasons though, I can be hit by the bus crossing the street or be stabbed by the local knife wielding jihadi. Considering the risk though I’d just look up the pictures of these stupid volcano on Google.

 

[Telmar]

I remember in Sicily that you could go on top of the Etna with special trucks. One can suppose the organizers know what they are doing. I have no idea how dangerous white island was listed, looks really beautiful, I can understand people wanting to go there...especially if it mainly consist of sitting on a boat for a ride.

I read in another forum that such an eruption was not predictable: the white smoke would indicate that water went through the magma chamber, turned into steam, and blew the top completely.

 

[NebrHogger]

A number of people have died on Everest this year and paid around $75,000 for the privilege. You die up there, you stay there forever.

I hiked Laramie Peak in Wyoming (11,000 feet) several years ago when my knees still worked, and that was enough mountaineering for me. Quite a view, though.

 

[TheKiwi]

Tours to White Island/Whakaari have been running for at least 30 years. So I guess that makes the risk 1:11,000 or so.

 

[muck]

But didn't the authorities warn of heightened activity lately? That's what the headlines say.

 

[TheKiwi]

Went from level 1 to level 2 out of 5, That's like the equivelent of the Terrorism rainbow - i.e. people get so used to it being in the "danger zone" that no-one cares anymore.

 

[primer]

The volcanic alert on Whakaaro - White Island in the Eastern Bay of Plenty - has been raised due to increased activity.

 

[BCNTM]

Tours to White Island/Whakaari have been running for at least 30 years. So I guess that makes the risk 1:11,000 or so.

how long before your PM bans the owning of a volcano or you have to have a licence to own a small inert one?

I am wondering if the helo that got fried is insured?

 

[NZM305]

I share the sentiment, wonder why the access to this active volcano is still allowed as well. Let me guess, because that makes for a nice tourist spot and trap for big bucks for the NZ govt?

@primer @TheKiwi @NZM305?

Considering our biggest city is built on an active volcanic field that last erupted approx 500yrs ago and that the centre of Te Ika-a-Maui contains the caldera volcano of Taupo which is meant to have had one of the biggest eruptions in geological history, i'd say it aint called the Ring of Fire for no reason.
Active volcanos are just part and parcel of living here.

 

[primer]

Police backtrack on criminal investigation into White Island / Whakaari deaths

Here we go. Not totally unexpected in the present day and age but since no one was stopping it either it has wider ramifications. Does level 2 shut down the ski fields in the future.