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Gov’t extends state of emergency
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Posted on Sep 29 1999
Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio yesterday extended a Commonwealth-wide state of emergency declared last July following continuous abnormal activities of a volcano north of Saipan that may lead to major eruptions within the next few months.
Residents of Alamagan have already fled the island after the government restricted travels to the area. Tenorio said it is still unsafe for human habitation.
Travels to the island, however, are permitted for scientific expeditions to monitor the volcanic activities, he said in his declaration that will take effect for the next 30 days.
Based from the earlier warning, government officials, except personnel of the Department of Public Safety, and others on scientific missions are permitted travel there upon approval by the Emergency Management Office.
DPS, together with EMO and the Office of the Mayor of the Northern Islands, is granted authority to enforce the off-limits ban and they may seek assistance from federal agencies, like the U.S. Coast Guard, to carry out its duties.
The small volcano showed signs of possible eruptions last December after years of slumber, spewing thick black smoke and sulfuric smoke that prompted immediate rescue of dozens of residents on the island, about 159 miles north of Saipan.
The Hawaii Volcanic Observatory has alerted the CNMI government about potential “major eruptions” in Alamagan based on the findings of the U.S. Geological Survey.
It has also urged installation of monitoring device on the island to provide an early warning system of impending volcanic eruptions. EMO set up the system in a visit last June during which officials also had discovered that steaming from the side of the volcano remains.
A period of six to eight months is needed to make a definite assessment of the situation in Alamagan, which is one of the few inhabited islands in the north.
The last major eruptions in the Northern Marianas, a chain of volcanic rocks and formation in the Western Pacific, occurred in 1982 when a volcano in Pagan exploded after decades of inactivity.
