Mount Spurr Eruption Risk Monitored by AVO

Mount Spurr in Alaska, a stratovolcano located 75 miles from Anchorage, is exhibiting significant seismic activity, indicating a potential eruption. The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) reports an increase in earthquakes, with frequencies rising from 30 to 125 per week since April 2024, likely due to new magma movements beneath the volcano. Past eruptions from the Crater Peak vent in 1953 and 1992 were explosive, dispersing ash clouds over large areas and causing significant aviation disruptions. If an eruption occurs, it could produce ash plumes, lahars, and pyroclastic flows, posing health risks from ash inhalation to Anchorage's 300,000 residents. However, no communities are directly in the path of these destructive flows. Despite the unrest, there's also a chance that the magma movement might cease without leading to an eruption, as has happened in previous episodes of volcanic activity.