Arenal Volcano Eruption - September 2003

Arenal Volcano Costa Rica, September 5th. 2003 - at 11h55 am today the most spectacular event since the 23 August 2000 eruption occurred when part of the wall of one of the active craters of Arenal collapsed and 4 consecutive pyroclastic avalanches occurred in a lapse of 45 minutes, flowing on the north-west face.

The hot material caused a small forest fire on the slope but he humid and lush tropical vegetation extinguished it.
The spectacular incandescent mixture of hot ashes, rocks & lava (nuйe ardente) traveled at an estimate initial speed of 200 kilometers per hour (125 mph) for a distance of 850 meters (2,750 feet) and never endangered the hotels and hot springs which are safely located several kilometers away. As a comparison, the Arenal August 2000 eruption was 2.5 kilometer long (1.5 mile).
There were no victims or property damage.

Nevertheless, the Comisiуn Nacional de Prevenciуn de Riesgos y Atenciуn de Emergencias (CNE) quickly declared a Green Alert and evacuated and closed for 3 hours the Arenal National Park, Tabacon Hot Springs and one of the hotels with the best views of the lava flow located on the north side of the volcano (see Arenal map): Hotel Los Lagos.

All is now back to normal and everything is re-opened including the Arenal National Park. The volcano is quite active with an average of 2 eruptions per hour & hot rocks and lava tumbling down every 15 minutes or so on the north and north-northwest face.

Observation post were setup by the experts at the Hotel Los Lagos, Mirador Kioro, the National Park and the Guardia Rural (local police) station in La Fortuna.

The tourists visiting the volcano will have stories for their postcards and lots of photos because the weather was perfect for volcano viewing today as it is often the case early morning in rainy season in this region. The ashes and smoke column could be seen from the Mirador Lodge in the mountains of the Monteverde Cloud Forest located 16 kilometers away as the crow flies. The sky was also clear at night and thousands of residents and visitors had the chance of seeing the glowing lava flow.

The Arenal Volcano is active almost every day since 1968 but events like this one are rare. Because the nearby dam on the Arenal Lake is a major source of electricity generation for Costa Rica and the fact that a volcano active for such a long period is a bargain for scientist, as well as one of the major tourist attraction of this country, it is very closely monitored by a sophisticated Seismological Network. In fact Mr. Fausto Alfaro the regional director of the Ministerio del Ambiente y Energнa (Minae, Environment & Energy Ministry) said that the volcano was under closer observation since a few days because instruments were signaling abnormal seismic activity and an avalanche was suspected.

The avalanches are not considered as eruptions by scientists and the volcanic activity remains moderate with an average of 41 eruptions a day as recorded in June 2003 by the OVSICORI.

Because pyroclastic flows travel so fast, we ask visitors to please respect the signs indicating the limit you should not cross when hiking on the trails even if the volcano seems quiet that day. Enjoy the show but from a safe distance!

Source: La Nacion, Costa Rica's national newspaper, Observatorio Vulcanolуgico y Sismolуgico (OVSICORI-UNA) and the friends and personnel of the Hotels Montana del Fuego, Arenal Paraiso, Hotel Los Lagos and Tacotal

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