Four years later, Bezymianny collapsed in Kamchatka, Russia, during the Cold War. The world and almost everything in it was not nearly so well documented in the 1950s as it is today and back in January 1951 nobody even suspected that Papua New Guinea’s Mount Lamington was a volcano, much less one that was about to erupt. The forested peak of the volcano had not been recognised as such until its devastating eruption in 1951 that caused about 3.000 deaths. But nobody saw fit to inform Australian government, volcanologists about these unusual occurrences, much less consider what they might herald. Indeed, complacent officials discouraged apprehensive observers from leaving the area. Lamington is a volcano on the southeastern tip of Papua New Guinea. He said Mt Lamington had been quiet. Mt. An eruption at Mount Lamington, 1951 (photo wikicommons) In late January 1951 local authorities in the northern district of Australian-administered Papua entered an alien landscape. Twenty-five caldera-forming eruptions of rhyodacitic to rhyolitic composition have produced over 6000 km 3 of magma during this period. ScienceDirect ® is a registered trademark of Elsevier B.V. ScienceDirect ® is a registered trademark of Elsevier B.V. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2020.106947. The bodies of local people could be seen strewn across roads and huddled in destroyed buildings. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Your email address will not be published. Mount Lamington broke out in violent eruption on 21 January 1951, killing thousands of Orokaiva people, devastating villages and destroying infrastructure. Roars from the mountain : colonial management of the 1951 volcanic disaster at Mount Lamington / R. Wally Johnson Johnson, R. W. (R. Wally), E-Book | ANU Press | 2020 The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), Sat 27 Jan 1951, Page 1 - MT. Open in new tab Download slide. Both of these statements were true as far as the people living on the northern ˛ank of Mount Lamington in 1951 were concerned. The 1951 eruption of Mount Lamington, Papua New Guinea: Devastating directed blast triggered by small-scale edifice failure. But erupt … Rescue efforts were hampered by swirling fumes and suffocating dust, while the clean-up was repeatedly threatened by continuing volcanic activity. The edifice collapse decompressed the intruding cryptodome and triggered its explosive fragmentation. About fifty years ago, on 21 January 1951, a major explosive eruption at Lamington killed ~3,000 people, the most of all historical volcanic eruptions in Papua New Guinea. Its last eruption was in 1951, so that does not prove that it is extinct because it hasn't been a million years. For the previous 3-4 weeks rumors had been circulating that Lamington was active, with reports of "fire" and "smoke" emanating from the volcano, felt earthquakes, and volcanic noises. Nearly 3,000 persons were killed by the pyroclastic flows that accompanied the explosion of Lamington. Before the 1951 eruption, Lamington was not known to be a volcano. Mount Lamington broke out in violent eruption on 21 January 1951, killing thousands of Orokaiva people, devastating villages and destroying infrastructure. 1. The eruption destroyed the northern half of the mountain and generated a massive pyroclastic surge, which killed more than 3500 people and destroyed dozens of villages. The eruption of Mt Lamington on Sunday 21 January 1951 was the greatest natural disaster on Australian-administered territory of Papua New Guinea. The eruption destroyed the northern half of the mountain and generated a massive pyroclastic surge, which killed more than 3500 people and destroyed dozens of villages. The juvenile material is crystal-rich andesite with a unimodal vesicularity distribution (4 to 36%). You should know: The complacency of the Australian administration was summed up by an official who – when criticism of official indifference reached fever pitch after the event – blandly stated: ‘As Mount Lamington volcano was eight miles from Higaturu, I formed the opinion that there was no immediate danger to human life’. The large (VEI=4) explosive eruption at Lamington in 1951 was the first and only activity at this stratovolcano is historical time. The 1951 blast of Mt.Lamington is similar to blasts of volcanoes Bezymianny (1956), St.Helens (1980), and Montserrat (1997). Mount Lamington Mount Lamington; After the devastating 1951 eruption: Elevation: 1,680 m (5,512 ft) [1] Location Casualties were numbered in thousands, either killed by blast shock or instantly burned to death by the superheated pyroclastic cloud that burst from the shattered mountainside. The debris avalanche had a volume of approximately 0.02–0.04 km3, travelled a distance (L) of 8.5 km and had the ratio of vertical drop (H) to runout (L) of 0.14. We present the results of a detailed reinvestigation of deposits of the famous 1951 eruption of Mount Lamington which was originally studied by T. Taylor (1958). The paroxysm at Lamington occurred at 10:40 am on the 21st January 1951. The current status of Mt. The eruption destroyed the northern half of the mountain and generated a massive pyroclastic surge, which killed more than 3500 people and destroyed dozens of villages. Mount Lamington began to erupt on the night of 18 January 1951. The PDC deposit has a volume of approximately 0.025 km3 and consists of approximately 80% juvenile rock fragments derived from the explosively fragmented cryptodome. The last eruption was 69 years ago which killed around 3,000 people in Northern. Scientists from the Rabaul Volcano Observatory carried out a 4-day investigation at Lamington and concluded that there was no new volcanic activity. Lamington in 1951. There is no record of it ever having erupted before. By continuing you agree to the use of cookies. The world and almost everything in it was not nearly so well documented in the 1950s as it is today and back in January 1951 nobody even suspected that Papua New Guinea’s Mount Lamington was a volcano, much less one that was about to erupt. The layer gradually becomes thinner and finer-grained with distance from the volcano. The eruption of Mt Lamington on Sunday 21 January 1951 was the greatest natural disaster on Australian-administered territory of Papua New Guinea. His son Erl was killed with him. The event began on January 18, with locals watching glowing volcanic bombs, minor landslips, ash emissions and lightning playing around the mountain. The volcano is 1,680 meters above sea level north of the Owen Stanley Range. More Information. Also unaware were the Europeans who administered the Lamington is Dormant. The volcano rises to 1680 meters above the … The usual dense vegetation had been transformed into fields of burnt ash and destruction. MOUNT LAMINGTON, now in eruption in Northeastern Papua, is shown on old maps as Berepo. Papau, New Guinea is the home of the great volcano, Mount Lamington. This intrusion destabilized Mount Lamington's prehistoric intra-crater lava dome. Within minutes of the eruption, nuées ardentes destroyed the city of St. Pierre, killing almost 30,000 inhabitants. Mount Lamington is an andesitic stratovolcano in the Oro Province of Papua New Guinea. Mount Lamington broke out in violent eruption on 21 January 1951, killing thousands of Orokaiva people, devastating villages and destroying infrastructure. We present results of a field reinvestigation of the 1951 PDC deposit combined with an analysis of the available photographs and … The volcano rises to 1680 m above the coastal plain north of … Generations of Orokaiva people had lived on the rich volcanic soils of Mount Lamington, apparently unaware of … We present results of field reinvestigation of pyroclastic deposits of the 1951 catastrophic eruption of Mount Lamington volcano, Papua New Guinea. My brother was Erl Cowley, aged 16, who died alongside him. Eruption History. Pyroclastic flows killed everything in a 325 km sq radius of Mt Lamington. There was no recognizable caldera, no lava, no geysers or steam escaping from underground. The devastation did not have a uniform spread – going out as far as 12 km (8 mi) in some directions but only 6 km (4 mi) in others. We speculate that the climactic explosion of Mount Lamington was initially vertical because the rupture surface of the triggering sector collapse intersected the apex of the intruding cryptodome (it exposed a subhorizontal surface of the cryptodome apex), while at Bezymianny, Mount St.Helens, and Soufriere Hills the rupture intersected the main body of the cryptodome/dome, and exposed their steeply inclined surfaces. Death toll: The eruption is estimated to have caused between 3,000 and 4,000 deaths. • Collection of photographs and colour slides from the 1951 eruption of Mt Lamington, Papua New Guinea / Albert Speer - held and partially digitised by the National Library of Australia Description of Volcano. The forested top of the mountain had never shown signs of having a volcanic crater at its peak and therefore no one had ever studied it as such. Age 47 when killed with son Erl in the eruption of Mount Lamington on 21st January 1951. Latitude lines of 8.95° S and Longitude lines of 148.15° E. New Guinea is an island outside Australia. On January 21 the destabilized dome gravitationally collapsed and produced a relatively small-volume debris avalanche, the deposit of which was not recognized during Taylor's original investigation. The power of the exploding volcano may be judged by the fact that at Higaturu District Station, 10 km (6 mi) from the eruption, a Jeep was plucked up and hurled into a tree, where it lodged in the branches. Three days later, at 10.40, a loud explosion was heard up to 320 km (200 mi) away. Also it hasn't erupted since 1951 so it is not active. The forested peak of the volcano had not been recognised as such until its devastating eruption in 1951 that caused about 3,000 deaths. The eruption of Mt Lamington on Sunday 21 January 1951 was the greatest natural disaster on Australian-administered territory of Papua New Guinea. Generations of Orokaiva people had lived on the rich volcanic soils of Mount Lamington, apparently unaware of … A comprehensive review of the eruptive activity has been given by Wilson et al. Photographs of the climactic explosion show that the eruptive cloud initially rose vertically but subsequently collapsed upon the terrain around the vent, and formed a PDC which flowed radially outward. Mount Lamington, south-west of Popondetta is in the Oro Province, north of the Owen Stanley Range in eastern New Guinea. The last reported eruption in the Territory was in 1945, when a mountain near Collingwood Bay on the North-East Coast became active. The area of extreme damage extended over a radius of about 12 km, while people near Higaturu, 14 km from the volcano, were killed by the blast or burned to death. Three days later there was a violent eruption when a large part of the northern side of the mountain was blown away and devastating pyroclastic flows (steam and smoke) poured from the gap for a considerable time afterwards. Unsurprisingly, vociferous demands for a public enquiry into the tragedy were turned down. Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. or its licensors or contributors. Mount Lamington was not known to be a volcano, and there were no traditional stories or legends about previous eruptions. My father was Cecil Cowley, the District Commissioner, an Australian who died that day in the line of duty. The people of Higaturu were given no warning of an impending eruption of Mt. In 1951, Mount Lamington collapsed in Papua New Guinea with only a few witnesses, mostly aborigines. From the Cairns post 26 January 1951. That changed in 1951. The mountain was covered with lush vegetation. The pyroclastic flows and subsequent eruptions of … In the studied NE-N-NW sector of the devastated area, in the zone proximal to the volcano, the PDC emplaced a normally graded layer of coarse ash and lapilli mixed in the base with picked-up soil and plant fragments. Before it erupted in 1951, when Upoto was a boy, the people living on the mountain did not realize it was a volcano. Elevation is 5,510' Feet. IN 1951, JUST OVER 60 years ago, my father and brother were killed in the eruption of Mt Lamington. Lamington is Explosive. He was District Commissioner working in the Higaturu Government Station at the time. Nearly 3,000 people were killed by pyroclastic flows. The enhanced northward propagation of the PDC to a maximum distance of 13 km reveals that the northern breach in the ancient crater's high walls influenced the distribution of the deposit. Mount Lamington Eruption – 1951. Mount Lamington is an andesitic stratovolcano in the Oro Province of Papua New Guinea. A stream of matter is running down the slopes of Lamington, but it is not known whether this is lava, water or a landslide. The edifice collapse triggered explosive fragmentation of the dome and climactic explosion. We have concluded that the six-days-long pre-climactic activity before the 1951 eruption (which included felt local seismicity, frequent ash-laden explosions of vulcanian type, bulging of the volcano slope accompanied with landslides) was associated with shallow-level intrusion of a highly viscous magma body (cryptodome/dome) of andesitic composition with a volume of approximately 0.01 km3. Summit is 1,680 meters. Generations of Orokaiva people had lived on the rich volcanic soils of Mount Lamington, apparently unaware of the deadly volcanic threat that lay dormant beneath them. But erupt it did, to fearful effect. Five thousand feet high, it was not even recognised as a volcano until it began erupting on 18 January 1951. Friday’s earthquake took place 10km offshore on the coastline of the Waria Patrol Post in Morobe and 120km north of Popondetta town. As a result of edifice destabilization a small-volume debris avalanche with volume ~ 0.03 km3 was produced. A roar was heard 320 km away and a catastrophic avalanche ripped apart the side of the mountain. The eruption style of Mt. Mount Lamington: Mount Lamington is a volcano along the Australian-Pacific Plate tectonic boundary in southeastern New Guinea. km; L=8.5 km; H/L=0.14). This is because the mountain was not considered a volcano. We use cookies to help provide and enhance our service and tailor content and ads. The main and catastrophic eruption took place on 21 January 1951. Fig. We found that the climactic phase of the eruption was triggered by a relatively small gravitational collapse of the old intracrater lava dome (debris avalanche V=0.02-0.04 cub. Required fields are marked *. LAMINGTON IN ERUPTION AGAIN You have corrected this article This article has been corrected by You and other Voluntroves This article has been corrected by Voluntroves Three days later there was a violent eruption when a large part of the northern side of the mountain was blown away and devastating pyroclastic flows (steam and smoke) poured from the gap for a considerable time afterwards. The catastrophic explosion of Mount Lamington volcano, Papua New Guinea on January 21, 1951 produced a devastating pyroclastic density current (PDC) that knocked down dense tropical rainforest over an area of 230 km2 and killed approximately 3000 people. This blew out the side of the mountain and deadly pyroclastic flows killed everything within a 325 sq km (125 sq mi) area around Mount Lamington. Lesser explosions and further tremors took place throughout January and February and on March 5 a secondary eruption caused a lava flow that travelled for 14 km (9 mi), igniting everything in its path. In contrast to the cases of these “classic” lateral blasts, the blast cloud of Lamington was initially vertically-directed before collapsing to produce a PDC. The eruptive cloud initially rose vertically but subsequently collapsed and formed PDC which flowed radially. (1993, 2008). © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Six-days-long pre-climactic activity was associated with intrusion of small cryptodome /dome. The reconstructed eruption sequence, the PDC tree blowdown pattern and characteristics of the PDC deposit are similar to those of catastrophic laterally-directed blasts of volcanoes Bezymianny in 1956, Mount St.Helens in 1980, and Soufriere Hills, Montserrat in 1997. The remaining 20% consists of accidental clasts derived from the old volcanic edifice. Six days of precursor activity culminated in the catastrophic eruption. We present results of a field reinvestigation of the 1951 PDC deposit combined with an analysis of the available photographs and eyewitness accounts of the eruption first published in the fundamental work of G. A. M. Taylor (1958). Mount Lamington began to erupt on the night of 18 January 1951. The catastrophic explosion of Mount Lamington volcano, Papua New Guinea on January 21, 1951 produced a devastating pyroclastic density current (PDC) that knocked down dense tropical rainforest over an area of 230 km 2 and killed approximately 3000 people. Lamington has a … Your email address will not be published. Black smoke is billowing from the northern side. Could be seen strewn across roads and huddled in destroyed buildings mostly aborigines Your email address will not published. So it is not active decompressed the intruding cryptodome and triggered its explosive.!, at 10.40, a loud explosion was heard 320 km away and catastrophic. 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