Geologists are on the alert, as Mount Redoubt in Alaska, a volcano 100 miles southwest of Anchorage, is rumbling and simmering. The scientists are warning about that an eruption may be imminent. They have been monitoring activity round-the-clock since the weekend, from the Alaska Volcano Observatory.

 

The last time the volcano erupted was during a five-month stretch starting in December 1989, and its eruption disrupted international air traffic, placing a layer of volcanic dust throughout the Anchorage area. Volcanoes in Alaska usually erupt explosively, shooting ash almost eight miles high.

 

The gas which is trying to escape is blocked by a lava dome or a viscous magma that increases the power from beneath, and the pressure keeps building and building. Depending on the wind, the ash plume could be pushed straight at Anchorage, the state’s largest city. This made state and city officials post bulletins on how to deal with the ash, and tips include staying inside, wearing a mask or wet bandanna if going outside and wearing goggles over contact lenses.

 

The eruption could occur within days or weeks, and city officials also warned residents to stock up on supplies ranging from extra food and water to respirators, plastic bags and windshield water fluid. In order to supervise the volcano’s activity, the observatory set up a Web camera near the summit of the volcano and another within Cook Inlet. It plans to do continuous visual surveillance, measure gas output and analyze satellite and weather-radar data. It remains to be seen if the volcano will really erupt or if it’s just a trick it’s playing to Anchorage residents.