新西蘭懷特島火山爆發(fā)

新西蘭懷特島火山爆發(fā)

New Zealand's White Island volcano erupted Monday, sending a plume of ash about 12,000 feet (3,657 meters) into the sky. There were 47 people on the island at the time, according to an update from the national police, and five deaths have been confirmed. Thirty-four survivors were rescued from the island, most of whom are still being treated in hospitals, but eight people remain unaccounted for.

新西蘭懷特島火山星期一噴發(fā)，噴出的火山灰高達(dá)1萬(wàn)2千英尺(3657米)。根據(jù)國(guó)家警察的最新消息，當(dāng)時(shí)島上有47人，已確認(rèn)5人死亡。島上有34名幸存者獲救，其中大多數(shù)仍在醫(yī)院接受治療，但仍有8人下落不明。

Smoke and ash rise from the White Island volcano on Dec. 9 in Whakatane, New Zealand. (Photo: John Boren/Getty Images)

Rescuers have not yet been able to search the island by foot, due to hazardous conditions and the risk of more eruptions, but after multiple reconnaissance flights over the island, authorities have said they don't expect to find more survivors.

由于危險(xiǎn)的條件和火山噴發(fā)的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，救援人員還沒(méi)有能夠步行搜索該島，但經(jīng)過(guò)多次偵察飛行后，當(dāng)局表示，他們預(yù)計(jì)不會(huì)找到更多的幸存者。

"No signs of life have been seen at any point," the New Zealand Police said in a statement early Tuesday morning. "Police believe that anyone who could have been taken from the island alive was rescued at the time of the evacuation. Based on the information we have, we do not believe there are any survivors on the island."

新西蘭警方在周二凌晨的一份聲明中表示，“目前還沒(méi)有發(fā)現(xiàn)任何生命跡象。”警方認(rèn)為，任何可能被生擒的人在撤離時(shí)都已獲救。根據(jù)我們掌握的信息，我們認(rèn)為島上沒(méi)有幸存者。”

White Island, also known as Whakaari, is the most active cone volcano in New Zealand. It's located about 30 miles (48 kilometers) from the east coast of the country's North Island, and serves as a popular tourist attraction. The people visiting the island when it erupted were reportedly both New Zealanders and tourists from overseas, including passengers from a cruise ship that had docked at the island.

懷特島，也被稱為Whakaari，是新西蘭最活躍的錐形火山。它位于該國(guó)北島東海岸約30英里(48公里)處，是一個(gè)受歡迎的旅游景點(diǎn)。據(jù)報(bào)道，火山噴發(fā)時(shí)，來(lái)島上旅游的既有新西蘭人，也有來(lái)自海外的游客，包括一艘?？吭趰u上的游輪上的乘客。

People were seen walking inside the crater moments before it erupted at about 2:11 p.m. local time, the BBC reports. Other visitors had just left the island — including American tourist Michael Schade, who posted videos and descriptions of the aftermath on Twitter. He and his family had just left the island about 20 minutes earlier, he said, but the boat they were on returned to help with rescues.

據(jù)英國(guó)廣播公司報(bào)道，當(dāng)?shù)貢r(shí)間下午2點(diǎn)11分左右，火山爆發(fā)前，人們?cè)诨鹕娇趦?nèi)行走。其他游客剛剛離開(kāi)該島，其中包括美國(guó)游客邁克爾·沙德，他在推特上發(fā)布了視頻和對(duì)災(zāi)難后果的描述。他說(shuō)，他和他的家人大約20分鐘前剛離開(kāi)這個(gè)島，但他們乘坐的船返回幫助救援。

There had been signs of heightened activity at the volcano, including reports of elevated background activity dating back weeks, according to GeoNet, a geological hazard monitoring system based in New Zealand. The site reported moderate volcanic unrest in a post on Dec. 3, citing "explosive gas and steam-driven mud jetting" but noting there was no volcanic ash being produced.

根據(jù)新西蘭地質(zhì)災(zāi)害監(jiān)測(cè)系統(tǒng)GeoNet的數(shù)據(jù)，已經(jīng)有跡象表明該火山活動(dòng)加劇，包括幾周前的背景活動(dòng)加劇的報(bào)告。該網(wǎng)站在12月3日的一篇帖子中報(bào)道了溫和的火山動(dòng)亂，引用了“爆炸性氣體和蒸汽驅(qū)動(dòng)的泥漿噴射”，但沒(méi)有產(chǎn)生火山灰。

"Overall, the monitored parameters continue to be in the expected range for moderate volcanic unrest and associated hazards exist," the site reported Dec. 3, adding that "the current level of activity does not pose a direct hazard to visitors."

該網(wǎng)站12月3日的報(bào)道稱，“總的來(lái)說(shuō)，監(jiān)測(cè)的參數(shù)仍然在中度火山動(dòng)蕩和相關(guān)危險(xiǎn)存在的預(yù)期范圍內(nèi)”，并補(bǔ)充說(shuō)，“目前的活動(dòng)水平不會(huì)對(duì)游客構(gòu)成直接威脅。”

The alert level had been raised before the eruption, University of Auckland volcanologist Jan Lindsay tells the BBC, but the amount of activity seen before the eruption isn't necessarily a red flag for such an active volcano. The last eruption at White Island, in 2016, caused no injuries.

奧克蘭大學(xué)的火山學(xué)家Jan Lindsay告訴BBC，火山爆發(fā)前的警戒級(jí)別已經(jīng)提高，但是對(duì)于這樣一座活火山來(lái)說(shuō)，噴發(fā)前的活動(dòng)量并不一定是危險(xiǎn)信號(hào)。上一次發(fā)生在2016年的懷特島火山噴發(fā)沒(méi)有造成人員傷亡。

"[The volcano] has a persistently active hydrothermal system," Lindsay says, and "if gases build up under a block of clay or mud they can be released quite suddenly."

“(這座火山)有一個(gè)持續(xù)活躍的水熱系統(tǒng)，”林賽說(shuō)，“如果氣體在一塊粘土或泥漿下堆積起來(lái)，它們會(huì)非常突然地釋放出來(lái)。”