Natural Hazards - Volcanoes

When the violent energy of a volcano is unleashed, the results can be catastrophic. The risks to life, property, and infrastructure are escalating as more and more people live, work, play, and travel in volcanic regions.

To help keep communities safe, it is essential to monitor hazardous volcanoes so that the public knows when unrest begins and what hazards can be expected.

The USGS has greatly advanced its ability to evaluate volcanic risks and hazards through research and monitoring programs. USGS realtime volcano-monitoring tools collect and transfer large amounts of data from remote volcanoes for analysis and interpretation.

USGS's analyses and interpretations help the public, policymakers, and emergency managers make informed decisions on how to prepare for and react to volcano hazards and reduce losses from future volcanic eruptions and debris flows.

Recent Volcano Observatory Activity Reports

Kilauea Daily Update issued Nov 23, 2009 07:53 HST Volcano Alert Level WATCH - Aviation Color Code ORANGE
Activity Summary for past 24 hours: A DI event started this morning. At the summit, a circulating, bubbling, spattering, rising, and falling lava pond surface was visible in a hole in the vent cavity floor deep beneath Halema`uma`u Crater floor. Sulfur dioxide emission rates from the Halema`uma`u and east rift zone vents remain elevated. Lava flows are active on the coastal plain; lava flows through tubes to the coast and is entering the ocean at two locations west of Kalapana. Past 24 hours at Kilauea summit: Overnight, the lava pond, visible in a hole in the floor of a ...
Long Valley Volcanic Center Daily Update issued Nov 23, 2009 09:45 PST Volcano Alert Level NORMAL - Aviation Color Code GREEN
The real-time computer system located four small earthquakes in the vicinity of Long Valley caldera since the last update at 10:02 AM (PST) on November 22. A magnitude M=1.1 earthquake at 11:58 AM on the 22nd was located beneath the southern margin of the caldera near Sherwin Creek Campground (2 miles ESE of Mammoth Lakes). A M=0.3 earthquake at 11:43 PM on the was located beneath Mammoth Mountain. Two earthquakes occurred in the Sierra Nevada south of the caldera; the largest was a M=1.2 event at 4:24 AM on the 23rd located 9 miles WSW of Tom's Place.
Long Valley Volcanic Center Daily Update issued Nov 22, 2009 10:02 PST Volcano Alert Level NORMAL - Aviation Color Code GREEN
The real-time computer system located two small earthquakes in the vicinity of Long Valley caldera since the last update at 10:04 AM (PST) on November 21. A magnitude M=1.6 earthquake at 6:00 AM was located in the Sierra Nevada south of the caldera (14 miles WSW of Tom's Place), and M=0.8 earthquake at 9:40 AM was located beneath Mammoth Mountain, both on the 22nd.
Kilauea Daily Update issued Nov 22, 2009 07:48 HST Volcano Alert Level WATCH - Aviation Color Code ORANGE
Activity Summary for past 24 hours: At the summit, a circulating, bubbling, spattering, rising, and falling lava pond surface was visible in a hole in the vent cavity floor deep beneath Halema`uma`u Crater floor. Sulfur dioxide emission rates from the Halema`uma`u and east rift zone vents remain elevated. Lava flows are active on the coastal plain; lava flows through tubes to the coast and is likely entering the ocean at two locations west of Kalapana. Past 24 hours at Kilauea summit: At 9:21 am yesterday morning, a sliver of the Halema`uma`u vent rim (in the Halema`uma`u ...