New Zealand volcano erupts, at least 5 dead, rescuers can't access island

[Kyle]

A volcano on a small New Zealand island frequented by tourists erupted Monday, killing at least five and created dangerous conditions that prevented rescuers from accessing the island, authorities said.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said about 100 tourists were on or near White Island when it erupted in the afternoon. It was unclear how many people remained on the island after the eruption.

Police said fewer than 50 people were on White Island at the time. Both New Zealand and overseas tourists were among the injured. Royal Caribbean said guests from its cruise ship Ovation of the Seas had been visiting the island.

New Zealand volcano erupts, at least 5 dead, rescuers can't access island

A volcano on a small New Zealand island frequented by tourists erupted Monday, killing at least five and created conditions that prevented any rescuers from accessing the island, authorities said.

www.foxnews.com

 

[itsbob]

Hard to believe in 2019 we can still be surprised by things like this.. I thought we had ways to monitor and detect when something like this was going to happen and have days to evacuate?

 

[Gilligan]

Hard to believe in 2019 we can still be surprised by things like this.. I thought we had ways to monitor and detect when something like this was going to happen and have days to evacuate?

From what I know about the extensive monitoring/instrumentation in place at Yellowstone, Mt. Saint Helens, in Hawaii, Mt. Eetna, etc is that many,. many other volcanoes are not covered like that. A remote one like this one, for example...not expected to affect any significant population.

 

[Kyle]

The article says the alert status was raised all the way to 4 and recently dropped back to 3. My guess is no one was paying any attention to the alert status.

 

[Gilligan]

The article says the alert status was raised all the way to 4 and recently dropped back to 3. My guess is no one was paying any attention to the alert status.

Wow..so they are monitoring that one, at least to some extent... Amazing how extensive that kind of thing is becoming. Can't hardly fart without setting off an alarm somewhere..

 

[stgislander]

Wonder how long it will be before someone sues Royal Caribbean.

 

[Kyle]

Wonder how long it will be before someone sues Royal Caribbean.

I'm sure there's a shifty lawyer on that right now.

 

[Clem72]

I'm sure there's a shifty lawyer on that right now.

Is this a shifty case? If the alert system said the island was dangerous, and they didn't make that abundantly clear to passengers before offering it as a destination, that sounds like a fair lawsuit.

 

[Kyle]

Is this a shifty case? If the alert system said the island was dangerous, and they didn't make that abundantly clear to passengers before offering it as a destination, that sounds like a fair lawsuit.

Not commenting on the case, but that the sleaziest lawyers are always the first in line.

 

[jrt_ms1995]

Wonder how long it will be before someone sues Royal Caribbean.

I wonder when the NZ parliament and PM will ban and require a mandatory turn-in of volcanoes?

 

[GURPS]

I'm sure there's a shifty lawyer on that right now.

would it be redundant to add Democrat in here somewhere

 

[BernieP]

FWIW, Gilligan and company at least made if off the island from their 3 hour tour.

 

[Merlin99]

FWIW, Gilligan and company at least made if off the island from their 3 hour tour.

I remember this situation coming up with them, the professor built a bomb out of a butternut squash and a couple of bananas and the volcano sucked everything back in.

 

[Kyle]

New Zealand volcano vents steam, death toll now at 16

As a New Zealand island volcano vented more steam and mud, authorities delayed plans to recover the bodies of victims from a deadly eruption and announced Thursday that the death toll rose after two people who had been hospitalized died.

www.chicagotribune.com

 

[stgislander]

FWIW, Gilligan and company at least made if off the island from their 3 hour tour.

He just traded one island in for another.

 

[Gilligan]

Is this a shifty case? If the alert system said the island was dangerous, and they didn't make that abundantly clear to passengers before offering it as a destination, that sounds like a fair lawsuit.

The warning system was at level 3 ..5 being the highest...and had reportedly been dropped to 3 from 4. Be interesting to see how this plays out. One thing people tend to assume - incorrectly - is that herds of ambulance chasing lawyers exist elsewhere in the civilized world like they do in the US. Unfortunately for us..we're unique in that particular kind of plague on society.

 

[BernieP]

The warning system was at level 3 ..5 being the highest...and had reportedly been dropped to 3 from 4. Be interesting to see how this plays out. One thing people tend to assume - incorrectly - is that herds of ambulance chasing lawyers exist elsewhere in the civilized world like they do in the US. Unfortunately for us..we're unique in that particular kind of plague on society.

Yep, the personal injury attorney, or at they prefer to be called, the Trail Lawyers Association - one of the largest lobbies on K Street.
They have helped drive up the cost of health care and drive certain practitioners out of business.
Any doctor in a high risk specialty either gets out or goes to a state where there is some limit to the damages that can be assessed.
(i.e. a state they can afford malpractice insurance).

 

[officeguy]

Thats like getting eaten by a lion while on safari. Just part of the risk profile.