Many city departments have begun reviewing plans and preparing for the possibility of an eruption in the coming weeks.
Anchorage, Alaska, may soon experience a natural disruption it hasn’t encountered in 30 years—a volcanic eruption.
Mount Spurr, an 11,000-foot-tall volcano in the Alaska Range, has seen an increase in seismic activity that suggests an eruption may occur within the coming weeks.
The Alaska Volcano Observatory has been monitoring increased activity since early February. Their observations include small earthquakes around the volcano, melting snow, and bulging ground around it, suggesting that magma from below the earth’s surface has entered the cone of the volcano.
Eruptions in 1953 and 1992 spread a layer of volcanic ash on the city of Anchorage, some 83 miles away, disrupting daily life and air travel throughout the region. Volcanic ash is particularly harmful to jet aircraft engines. If ingested while in flight, the particles can cause the engines to stop working.
In December 1989, a sudden eruption of nearby volcano Mount Redoubt caused an emergency onboard a passing KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Boeing 747. The aircraft entered the ash cloud, thinking it was a normal cloud, and experienced the in-flight shutdown of all four of the aircraft’s engines. The crew were able to restart the engines after several minutes, and the aircraft landed safely in Anchorage.
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In subsequent years, air traffic control has gotten better at identifying hazardous ash clouds and redirecting commercial flights away from them, but because of the risks involved, aircraft must generally give the ash clouds a wide berth.
The Mount Spurr eruption in 1992 closed Anchorage International Airport for 20 hours, resulting in numerous flight cancellations. If the volcano erupts during the upcoming summer tourist season, the impact on tourist traffic could be significant, particularly if the eruption lasts for more than a few days. Airport shutdowns in Alaska affect more than passenger traffic—they also halt the lifeline of air cargo to rural communities, which are vital in a state with a limited road system, reaching only around 80% of the population.
Travelers intending to vacation in Alaska this summer can safeguard their investments by purchasing travel insurance that will reimburse for expenses if their flight is delayed or canceled because of a volcanic eruption—as long as they buy the policy before the eruption is imminent. As of late Wednesday, travel insurer Allianz had not yet listed a Mount Spurr eruption as a known hazard, meaning policies bought up until that time would cover losses related to an eruption.
A volcanic eruption would be unlikely to disrupt cruise operations, as they aren’t as susceptible to volcanic ash, and Anchorage’s primary cruise ports at Seward and Whittier are separated from Anchorage by other mountain ranges. Rail and motorcoach operations, however, are typically curtailed by volcanic ash clouds because they can also strain the engines of those vehicles.
During an eruption, local residents and visitors are also typically advised to stay indoors, as volcanic ash can be harmful if inhaled or if it enters sensitive areas of the body, like the eyes.
First responders in Anchorage have procedures in place for a volcanic eruption, and many city departments have begun reviewing plans and preparing for the possibility of an eruption in the coming weeks.
Southcentral Alaska—the state’s most populated region—and the Aleutian Islands make up what’s known in geological circles as the “Ring of Fire”, a line of tectonic plate faults and volcanoes that dot the Pacific coasts virtually all around the ocean itself. Like the U.S. West Coast, earthquakes are also common in southcentral Alaska. On March 27, 1964, the largest recorded earthquake to ever hit the North American continent shook the region for four minutes and thirty-eight seconds with a magnitude of 9.3, damaging buildings in Anchorage and elsewhere around the region.
