A short-lived, vigorous steam and gas plume was observed rising above the White Island volcano in New Zealand on July 26, 2024. The Volcanic Alert Level remains at Level 2 (moderate to heightened unrest), and the Aviation Color Code remains Yellow.
Continuous moderate gas and steam plum emissions have been rising from White Island volcano since July 10, 2024. Although the Volcanic Alert Level remains at Level 2, eruptions can still occur with little or no warning.
Vigorous steaming was observed at the Whakaari / White Island volcano on July 3, 2024. The steaming increased during the morning hours (LT) and is now more visible from the coast.
A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.2 hit the Kermadec Islands region at 15:54 UTC on May 31, 2024. The agency is reporting a depth of 19.6 km (12.3 miles). EMSC is reporting the same magnitude and depth.
A very bright fireball was seen over Otago and Canterbury, New Zealand at 08:04 UTC (21:04 LT) on March 13, 2024. Analysis shows that some 0.5 km (1.1 pounds) of the object survived the entry and ended up scattered on the ground in MacKenzie Country. A public search for meteorites is scheduled for March 21.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand reported a large vegetation fire covering about 650 ha (1 606 acres) in the Port Hills near Christchurch on February 15, 2024. A state of emergency was declared the previous day, with 130 firefighters, 11 helicopters, and heavy machinery deployed. Evacuations affected 80 properties, though no homes were lost. The blaze remains uncontained, and a public health warning was issued due to smoke.
A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.1 hit Kermadec Islands, New Zealand at 10:57 UTC on February 9, 2024. The agency is reporting a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles).
A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.0 hit Kermadec Islands, New Zealand at 10:10 UTC on October 23, 2023. The agency is reporting a depth of 23.1 km (14.3 miles). EMSC is reporting M6.1 at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles).
A freight train operated by KiwiRail found itself engulfed by a landslide on the South Island’s West Coast near Hawks Crag in the early hours of Monday, October 16, 2023. The incident, which led to a minor derailment, saw the lone engineer on board escaping without any injury.
Over the weekend of September 16 – 17, 2023, New Zealand’s MetService forecasts an intense westerly wind event across the South Island and the southern half of the North Island. This anticipated event could be more disruptive than yesterday’s strong winds, which resulted in power outages in Wairarapa.
