Over 400 volcanoes scattered across Australia you didn't know existed
Volcano experts said Australia should be better prepared for potential eruptions with hundreds of volcanic centres scattered around the country’s southeast.
As work continues to identify the victims of New Zealand’s White Island tragedy, volcanologists warned they do “not know” when an eruption could occur in Australia and there may not be much warning.
Experts said despite the slim chances of eruption, Australia is underprepared against the risk.
“I would say that we shouldn’t be overly concerned by the volcanic risk,” volcanic risk expert Christina Magill told the ABC.
“It is something that should be considered in the emergency management plan for the areas around the volcanic province, because it’s still a possibility.
“I think that’s a hazard that we’re not aware of as much here in Australia.”
The Newer Volcanics Province stretches 400km between Melbourne and south-east South Australia, and hosts about 400 volcanoes which have erupted in the past 4.5 million years.
The area experienced a volcanic eruption about every 12,000 years on average, with the last eruption taking place about 5,000 years ago in the Mount Gambier and Mount Schanck area.
However, Macquarie University’s associate professor of volcanology and geochemistry Heather Handley said eruption could take place any time. “We just don’t know – it could be in a few weeks, it could be a month, it could be a few years, it could be thousands of years,” Handley said.
A 2013 study from Monash University found that the first warning signs of eruption in the area would have been noticed only up to two days in advance.
Handley said Australia could follow from Auckland’s example. “That’s a city that’s a third of New Zealand’s population [and] sits on an active volcanic field,” she said.
“They do prepare. They run simulations with military and they work very closely with local governments, and they try to figure out eruption scenarios.”