Montserrat Volcano Observatory


Daily Report
Report for the period 6 pm 31 January
to 6 pm 1 February 1998


Activity at the volcano was very similar to yesterday, with rockfall signals dominating the seismic records. Between 16:00 yesterday and 16:00 today there were 16 hybrid earthquakes, 1 volcano-tectonic earthquake, 2 long period earthquakes and 49 rockfall signals. The rockfalls mainly occurred in three distinct periods; around 8 pm last night, 4 am this morning and in the middle of this afternoon. Such cyclic activity has been seen many times at the volcano before and is typical of active dome growth, which is still occurring on the southwestern side of the dome.

Low cloud covered the volcano today so that no visual observations were possible. Light ash fall occurred in a few places in central and northern Montserrat, but most ash went out to sea to the west.

Despite the continued light ash fall, dust levels at all monitoring stations remained low today. The rain in certain areas is helping to keep dust levels down, but they may rise once the rain stops with some ash still on the ground.

People should remain alert and listen to Radio Montserrat for further information.


Montserrat Volcano Observatory