RENEWED ACTIVITY MORE VIOLENT THAN FIRST STAGE

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 22868, 11 February 1949, Page 6

RENEWED ACTIVITY MORE VIOLENT THAN FIRST STAGE

(P.A.) RAETIHI, Feb. 11. Renewed activity took place on Mount Ngauruhoe late yesterday afternoon and built up in the evening to an eruption even more violent than that of Wednesday. At a late hour last night the mountain was in a state of major activity. It was resumed in the afternoon after a quiet morning, with a sudden explosion soon after 2 p.m. which shook the surrounding country. From then on heavy ground tremors and air vibration commenced with intermittent explosions and a continuous pulsating rumble. It was not possible until 7 o’clock in the evening to see what was occurring owing to the heavy cloud which covered the mountain. Shortly after 7 o’clock there was another major explosion which shot up a pillar of cloud to an estimated height of 16,000 ft., after which the sky cleared. From then on the mountain continued erupting a continuous shower of ’molten rock, the heat from which generated a cloud of smoke which ringed the mountain. The underglow on this cloud from the molten rock strewn down the mountainside with the shower of rock and flame shooting through the dark upper side created a magnificent spectacle which many hundreds have gathered to watch. It was plainly visible from Raetihi, 30 miles away.