Volcanic activity worldwide 18 Feb 2021: Etna volcano, Fuego, Popocatépetl, Reventador, Raung, Sang...

Etna (Sicily, Italy): (18 Feb) Less than 30 hours after Tuesday's spectacular paroxysm (lava-fountaining episode), the volcano gave again an impressive display of fire, producing another similar and very powerful eruption last night.
After the end of the previous paroxysm on 16 Feb, the volcano's activity had actually dropped to the lowest levels in recent weeks, but that was about to change very quickly last evening.
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Around 11 pm local time, the sop-far intermittent and mild strombolian explosions from the New SE crater began to increase significantly, both in size and frequency. At the same time, the monitoring network of INGV Catania detected a rapid rise of volcanic tremor signal, indication of magma moving underground towards the surface.
Less than two hours later, around 1 am this morning local time, the eruption reached its peak phase: for almost an hour, tall lava fountains shot into the night sky, reaching considerable heights of probably around 500 m or even more. Multiple large lava flows descended on several sides of the cone as well.


Taal (Luzon, Philippines): Ongoing elevated seismic activity under the volcano sparked fears that the volcano, which had a massive, devastating eruption little more than a year ago, in January 2020, might erupt again in the near future. It prompted authorities to evacuate residents from Volcano Island, located within the crater lake of Taal volcano in the Province of Batangas, Philippines.
Volcano Island is within the designated Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ) of the Taal Volcano due to its location within the crater lake. The evacuations affected the remaining small villages located on the shores of the island, as they are only a few kilometer distance from the active crater lake in the center of the island away.
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The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) has recorded more than 300 volcanic tremor episodes since Feb. 15, 2021. GPS data and satellite-based radar analysis show that the volcano continues a slow trend of inflation. These observations indicate that magma is accumulating inside its reservoirs.


Raung (East Java): Explosive activity continues. Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) Darwin warned about a volcanic ash plume that rose up to estimated 14000 ft (4300 m) altitude or flight level 140 .
The full report is as follows: DISCRETE VA EMISSION TO FL140 MOV ENE OBS VA DTG:18/1106Z to 14000 ft (4300 m)

Popocatépetl (Central Mexico): Explosive activity continues. Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) Washington warned about a volcanic ash plume that rose up to estimated 21000 ft (6400 m) altitude or flight level 210 .
The full report is as follows: ONGOING VA EMS to 21000 ft (6400 m)

Fuego (Guatemala): Explosive activity continues. Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) Washington warned about a volcanic ash plume that rose up to estimated 16000 ft (4900 m) altitude or flight level 160 .
The full report is as follows: ONGOING VA EMS to 16000 ft (4900 m)

San Cristobal (Nicaragua): (18 Feb) On 14 February at 15:05 local time a small explosion with emissions of water vapor and small amounts of ash occurred at the summit vent. Plume of ash rose to an altitude of 7,500 ft (2,300 m) and drifted SW as VAAC Washington reported.
A small-to-moderate thermal anomaly was detected in satellite images.
Source: Instituto Nicaragüense de Estudios Territoriales volcano activity update 18 February 2021

Sangay (Ecuador): Explosive activity continues. Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) Washington warned about a volcanic ash plume that rose up to estimated 22000 ft (6700 m) altitude or flight level 220 .
The full report is as follows: ONGOING VA EMS to 22000 ft (6700 m)

Reventador (Ecuador): Explosive activity continues. Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) Washington warned about a volcanic ash plume that rose up to estimated 15000 ft (4600 m) altitude or flight level 150 .
The full report is as follows: VA CLDS OBS IN SUMMIT WEBCAM to 15000 ft (4600 m)

Sabancaya (Peru): Volcanic Ash Advisory Center Buenos Aires (VAAC) issued the following report: continuous ash emissions

Copahue (Chile/Argentina): SERNAGEOMIN reported that volcano-tectonic earthquake with magnitude M 3.4 at 5.4 km depth beneath the volcano was detected by seismic network.
Volcanic Alert Level remains at Level 1.
Source: Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería de Chile volcano activity update 18 February 2021

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