Senate asks DOI help on volcano warning system

The Senate yesterday asked the Department of the Interior to provide technical and financial assistance for the installation of a volcano early warning system in the CNMI.

In a unanimous vote, the nine-member Senate adopted Senate Joint Resolution 14-10, which seeks DOI’s assistance in implementing the “Hazards Assessment and Volcano Early Warning System for the CNMI.”

The plan was prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey. The Senate said it was made at the request of the Emergency Management Office and the Office of the Governor.

Some House members earlier pushed for the adoption of a resolution supporting the USGS project so it could get funding from the U.S. Congress.

Saipan Rep. Joseph Deleon Guerrero said the installation of the monitoring system needs urgent attention because it affects other areas outside the CNMI.

“It’s not just a local issue but an international issue,” he said, citing USGS findings that volcanic eruptions pose great risk to air traffic.

USGS earlier said that there are some 25,000 flights flying over CNMI airspace in a year. It also said that more than 1 million flights of large commercial aircraft that transit from Asia to Australia and New Zealand would be affected by eruptions in the Marianas

The USGS cited that a small eruption of Anatahan in 2003 produced an ash cloud that disrupted regional and international air traffic for at least two days.

The agency said that assessing the hazards and monitoring the nine active volcanoes in the Northern Marianas would cost about $1.9 million per year for the first three years, $1.2 million in the fourth year, and approximately $500,000 per year eventually.

The agency recently presented its latest report on the Northern Islands’ situation and cautioned that the islands remain unsafe for settlement and even visits amid potential threats of volcanic eruptions.

The USGS reportedly told House members that people on the islands would continue to be at risk unless necessary monitoring equipment is installed there.

Based on estimates, Deleon Guerrero said the installation and operation of the equipment would not take place until two to four years.

He said the USGS would need $4 million to $7 million to get the project running, and a $500,000 annual budget for maintenance.

The federal agency currently lacks the budget to carry out the plan.