New Zealand Herald Australian correspondent Greg Ansley looks at claims from an Australian scientist that an eruption on the Australian mainland was an inevitability and should be planned for.
An excerpt: (read in full here)
“There are only two active volcanoes on Australian territory: “Big Ben” on Heard Island in the depths of the Southern Ocean, and Mawson Peak on nearby McDonald Island, whose eruptions doubled the island’s size in the final two decades of the last century.
“But in a warning issued through the Geological Society and sciencealert.com.au, Joyce said that a volcanic eruption on the Australian mainland was an inevitability.
“In the past 40,000 years there had been a cycle of increased volcanic activity that could be pointing to future events.
“‘We can’t say with 100 per cent certainty that a significant volcano will strike tomorrow, next week, next year, or even 100 years down the track, but these geohazards are real and they must be given much more focus by emergency management authorities,’ he said.”