The level of activity at the volcano has increased overnight, with many more VT earthquakes being recorded. There were also two rock avalanches from the Galway's Wall. The situation is extremely serious. The Galway's Wall is becoming more unstable, and could collapse at any time, leading to a lateral blast. The October 1 dome continues to grow, and more rockfalls and pyroclastic flows to the east are possible. These twin dangers mean that nobody should enter zones A and B under any circumstances. This includes the St Patricks, Galways, Long Ground and Tar River areas. There is a very real risk of death for anyone in these areas.
A swarm of volcano-tectonic earthquakes began at 6:45 am yesterday. So far, about 150 earthquakes have been recorded, and most of these occurred overnight. This is the largest swarm of VTs since 6 November. Processing of these earthquakes is not up-to-date, but it is thought that they are all at shallow depths beneath the crater. Two large rockfalls from the Galway's Wall were recorded by the seismic networks at 5:14 pm and 8:29 pm.