The earth is made up of three main layers namely the crust, the mantle, and the core. The crust is a thick solid rock, the mantle also referred to as magma is a thick molten rock and the core has an eccentric slid surrounded by liquid. Temperatures inside the core are very high (about 50000C), described as a ‘huge fiery ball’. The heat at the core rises and magma is heated to an extent of exploding through the crust. This is referred to as the volcano. In addition, during the escape, it releases a lot of heat, gases, and huge quantities of dust. Tectonic plates on the earth’s crust move slowly as the molten rock supply a huge current of heat in the mantle. However, almost all volcanoes occur along the edges of these plates. With volcanic activities, a mountain is both created and destroyed simultaneously. Papua New Guinea (PNG) consists of 16 active and 28 dormant volcanoes which endanger approximately 250 thousand people living in a total square area of 16,000 km. out of the 16 active volcanoes, 6 are categorized as high-risk volcanoes for the following reasons.
They have emitted plumes in the past years and the probability of these volcanoes repeating eruption is very high. Secondly large population has gathered to live around or near the volcanoes. People have engaged in several economic activities around these areas which include; Palm Oil plantations, logging industries, Sawmills, cocoa, copra plantations, and many others. These 6 high-risk volcanoes include; Rabaul, Ulawun, Pago, Karkar, Manam as well as Mount Lamington. From the year 1700, PNG has experienced disastrous eruption almost every year. For instance, Manam and Langila erupted on August 9, 2006 at the same time, and the two eruptions were live recorded by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite. Following the eruption, 15,000 people were severely affected. The internally displaced persons (IDP) from the two islands lived informal lives with the government reluctant to return them to the island. However, the Kimbe Vulcanological Observatory (KVO) has reassessed the situation during the 2005 eruption and concluded that the volcano was not going to erupt shortly.
Despite the results by KVO, Langila volcano continued to emit occasional white smoke (Operation Update no. 1., 2005). In addition, the wind blew ashes in the southern direction toward the village of Vem and Galegale. This led to another eruption in 2006 and another one followed closely in 2007. With such kind of unpredictable eruption, the concerned authorities should advise its citizens on the potential risks in such places. In 2004 (November and December), Manam was severely affected by the eruptions forcing its occupants to evacuate. Earlier eruptions in 1996 claimed 13 lives in the Budua village. Consequently, 4 people were killed in 2007 due to mudflow at the same Island (Operation Update no. 1., 2005). Langila is classified as one of the most active volcanoes at PNG consisting of two major volcanic activities, eruption, and lava flow.
The first eruption took place in 1878. From 1973, mount Langila has experienced active eruptions constantly until the latest in 2007. Every volcanic activity has been accompanied by loss of lives and properties. On the contrary, after the eruption cools down and studies by KVO, people go back because of the economic activities involved in these places. The KVO is to study and monitor volcanoes in PNG to give early warnings of upcoming eruptions to the government and create awareness for the people. Owing to resource limitations, a few volcanoes at PNG are being monitored. Some like Karkar are not monitored due to the vandalism of expensive types of equipment in the early 90s. However, since the Langila eruption has occurred in the 19th century, the old cliché, ‘prevention is better than cure should be used. Villages and establishments like schools, hospitals, and businesses must be built away from hazardous locations. Infrastructure should be established at safe distances away from the volcano. People are advised to follow instructions during evacuation when high risk is mentioned (Operation Update no. 1., 2005).
Reference
Operation Update no. 1. (2005). Papua New Guinea: Manam and Langila Volcanoes. Web.