Augustine Volcano Has Experts Wary in Alaska

A volcano near Alaska’s most populated region is being watched by scientists and officials, who warned Thursday of the risk of ash and a tsunami if it erupted.

Intensifying rumblings in the last few weeks at Augustine Volcano, an island peak 175 miles southwest of Anchorage in Cook Inlet, have produced steam explosions, sulfur gas emissions and other danger signs, scientists said.

Events in 1986 and 1976 sent ash clouds as high as 40,000 feet.

There has also been an increase of 1 inch atop the 4,134-foot volcano, indicating that seismic activity is causing the summit to bulge slightly, said seismologist John Power of the Alaska Volcano Observatory, which is run jointly by the U.S. Geological Survey and state agencies.

“All of these things are very typical of what you would expect to see in a volcano that is reawakening,” Power said.

Although no specific signs suggest an eruption is imminent, flight restrictions are in place, along with plans to expand them if volcanic activity increases.

An Augustine eruption could result in grounded flights, school closures and evacuations, officials said.

And a consequent landslide from the volcano into Cook Inlet could cause a tsunami, they said.

Such an event occurred in 1883, when a wave believed to be 20 feet high hit Nanwalek, a village about 50 miles east of Augustine.

Anchorage is too far away to be at risk, according to the West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center.