During the last week of November 2004, daily eruptions of ash and steam from Manam Volcano off the east coast of New Guinea (north of Australia), made the living conditions so unfavorable that thousands of residents were evacuated by container ship. In addition to disruptions of the food and water supply, ash had dirtied the solar panels that provide electricity for the island's radio communication with the mainland, isolating the islanders even further. Officials and scientists are concerned that the ongoing activity is a sign that a major eruption is brewing, and they began urgent evacuation of 9,000 people on November 28, 2004. This image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite on November 29, 2004, shows a brown plume of ash spreading eastward from Manam.
References & Resources
NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the MODIS Rapid Response team.
