Babauta: No tsunami warning

Despite the major eruption that occurred on Anatahan Island yesterday morning, there is no tsunami warning and people need not be unduly alarmed.

Gov. Juan N. Babauta, quoting U.S. Geological Survey program coordinator James Quick, said there is no tsunami warning and that, as of 4pm yesterday, the volcanic ash plume has already moved away from Saipan and Tinian.

He said the skies would remain clear as long as no follow-up eruptions occur.

The Public School System suspended classes yesterday at 10:30am. Babauta said it was probably safer for the children to be with their parents in their respective homes. Classes will resume today.

Some private schools such as Grace Christian Academy also suspended classes but the decision to do so depended on the administration of each school.

Government offices remained open yesterday.

Babauta said that Saipan’s airport remained open yesterday, although some airlines were delayed. Cape Air cancelled their flights yesterday morning but Japan Airlines with flights to Saipan delayed their schedule for about two to three hours to wait for the ash plume to subside.

The governor said that a USGS advisory indicated wind direction to be moving south westerly. Satellite images yesterday afternoon showed winds rapidly moving southwest, explaining why the sky began to clear up early afternoon.

EMO director Rudy Pua advised the public to limit their outside activities for the moment as the ash is still present in the atmosphere and is being stirred up by the wind.

Pua said the eruption, which spewed ashes as high as 50,000 to 60,000 feet, produced ash as thick as two millimeters wide. He also said the eruption first released “bombs” or rocks from the mouth of the volcano, followed by ash plumes that spread fast, reaching Saipan’s skies in the wee hours of the morning until 11am.

Pua also said no acid rain was recorded on Saipan. Although the USGS said the eruption could cause acid rain, this would be limited to an area 10 to 20 miles from the volcano.

EMO lacks monitoring equipment

Pua said that, of the four monitoring equipment that EMO has placed on Anatahan, only one remains intact since February. He said the Governor’s Office is acting on this matter seriously.

He said the three monitoring equipment might have been destroyed in January when the first eruption was recorded. Large hard rocks might have hit and landed on the three equipment.

EMO, together with the Geological Survey team, would look at the equipment on Anatahan when the eruption subsides. Pua said he would send his team to inspect the damage and probably repair the equipment.

“Without these equipment in place, we [at EMO office] are working in the dark,” said Pua.

Working with other agencies

The governor said his office and EMO would continue working with the Commonwealth Ports Authority, the Department of Public Safety, Department of Public Health, Red Cross and the National Weather Service in handling this matter.

He said they also have tapped the assistance of the Division on Environmental Quality to monitor the air quality on the islands.

Environmental Specialist Marvin Seman said they would help in monitoring the air quality of Saipan and other islands through an air modeling system the division provides.

The system would provide a three-dimensional graphic description of the direction of the wind and the ashfall as to where it is heading in the CNMI.

Seman said the result would take at least a week. He said DEQ would still have to obtain documents and information from the Emergency Management Office.