Alaska volcano erupts five times

Alaskan authorities were on alert yesterday after the Mount Redoubt volcano erupted five times, spewing plumes of smoke and ash some 15 kilometers into the air and forcing flight cancellations.

The Alaska Volcano Observatory said there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage from the 3,100 meter volcano, located not far from Anchorage, Alaska's most populous city.

Weeks of eruptions can be expected, officials said, similar to Mount Redoubt's last major eruption, when the volcano belched on and off for some four months starting in December 1989.

The eruptions, which began late Sunday, have unleashed a cloud of ash reaching up to 18,200 meters above sea level, said Rick Wessels, a geophysicist at the observatory. The explosions were also "pretty good sized," he said.

Alaska Airlines canceled 19 flights out of the international airport in Anchorage, which lies some 160 kilometers northeast of the volcano, and residents of nearby towns have been warned to prepare for falling ash.

"We expect these activities to last for weeks," said Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, speaking with volcano experts on a conference call to reporters.

Salazar said that Alaska officials were monitoring the safety of local residents and that of air travelers. Some 20,000 passengers fly through the area "on any given day," Salazar said.

Officials are also monitoring the Drift River Oil Terminal, an oil storage site located on Redoubt Bay, just 32 kilometers northeast of the volcano.

When the volcano last erupted, lava that crashed into the Drift River triggered a flood that reached the oil terminal, which was briefly evacuated.

The volcano observatory, which monitors activity at the state's 44 volcanos, reported at least five powerful eruptions on Mount Redoubt, including the first late Sunday.

Staff have been on alert since the volcano first began rumbling again in January, but a 24-hour watch has now been resumed and a red alert warning has been posted, the observatory said.

Early Monday the prevailing winds were pushing the ash north to the upper Susitna Valley and Talkeetna, known as a starting point for mountaineers attempting to climb Mount McKinley, the highest peak in North America.

"The ash is moving north and missing the bulk of the population in south-central Alaska," said US Geological Survey volcano expert Tom Murray.