New Zealand Raises Aviation Alert Code for Offshore Volcano

(Bloomberg) -- New Zealand officials have raised the aviation alert code for the offshore volcano Whakaari/White Island, which is emitting large steam and gas plumes and occasionally ash.

“The volcano is not actively erupting but the current activity could be leading to a new eruptive episode,” natural hazards monitoring agency GeoNet said in a statement on its website Monday in Wellington. The aviation code is raised to orange, the second-highest level behind red, which cautions of significant emission of ash.

Measurements from a surveillance flight over the weekend showed an increase in gas emissions as well as ash in the atmosphere, the state-run agency said. Taken together, these indicate a new eruptive episode may be starting, it said.

The island, situated off the east coast of the North Island, erupted suddenly in December 2019 killing 22 people, mostly tourists, who were on it at the time. Tourists are no longer able to visit.

GeoNet said its volcanic alert level remains at 2, representing “moderate to heightened volcanic unrest.”