2014–2015 eruption of Fogo | |
---|---|
Volcano | Pico do Fogo |
Start date | 23 November 2014 |
End date | 8 February 2015 |
Type | Hawaiian, Strombolian |
Location | Fogo, Cape Verde |
VEI | 3 |
The 2014–2015 eruption of Fogo began on 23 November 2014, continuing until 8 February 2015. It was the first eruption of Pico do Fogo in 19 years, and the longest since its 1857 eruption. It had a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 3, making it the largest eruption of the volcano since records began. [1]
It caused an estimated five billion escudos (€45.3 million) in damages. [2]
The volcano started erupting shortly after 10 a.m. on Sunday, 23 November 2014. [3] There had been a few days of heightened seismic activity, with stronger tremors occurring the night before the eruption started. [3] The eruption began at Pico Pequeno and at another location near the crater made by the 1995 eruption. The population of Chã das Caldeiras, totaling around 1,000 inhabitants, spent the night outside their homes due to the strong earthquakes, [3] and started being evacuated when the eruption began. As in 1995, some people initially refused to abandon their homes, but eventually heeded the authorities' instructions.
On 27 November, a lava flow moved northward toward the village center. [4] During the first days of eruption, a 3.5 km stretch of the southern basalt paved road that connected São Filipe was covered with lava. On 1 December, the lava flow rate was 15 meters an hour and it had engulfed 400 ha of land, destroyed 18 houses and was nearing the village center. [5] A day later, lava entered into Portela where 50 houses were destroyed along with a school and a hotel. [6] By 7 December, much of Portela was ruined and 70% of Bangaeira had been damaged. [7] On 9 December, lava reached more areas inside the Bordeira and Bangaeira and by 12 December it affected almost all of Bangaeira.[ citation needed ]
Not long after the eruption, the 2014–2015 Fogo Premier Division just started its new season. Into the second round of competition, as the Baxada-Nô Pintcha and Spartak-Academica were about to begin that day after the noon hour, as the eruption started four hours before the scheduled match, the second round was delayed and the Spartak d'Aguadinha-Académica match was rescheduled for 14 December and the Baxada-Nô Pintcha for 17 December. [8] The remaining rounds matches were largely rescheduled and its weeks that had breaks were removed. It probably cancelled the 2014–2015 Fogo Cup was cancelled and probably the 2014 Santiago Super Cup with Sporting Praia-Tchadense on the opposite island of Santiago. The third round matches were rescheduled for 20–29 December and lasted for two weeks. After the volcanic activity dwindled, the Premier Division resumed competition on 10 January. It did not affect the Second Division competition which started over a week after the eruption.
The lava was less intensified for a week, on 19 December, lava engulfed the buildings and cultivated fields in the small area of Ilhéu de Losna (Dje de Lorna) and the main road with Portela was cut off and later destroyed. The lava flow on December 23 reached the western foot of Bordeira, the first since the 1680 eruption and afterwards became less active.
Lava flows later decreased and became less active and on 8 February, it was finished after 77 days of activity. [9] Overall, it devastated the sections of Bangaeira, Portela and Dje de Lorna and parts of the village, most of the center, the western part up to 1 km and most of the southern part where the volcano erupted.
Lava flow reached most of the middle of the edge of Bordeira in the village as well as the foot of Pico de Caldera, the southernmost and the west rim.
Bruno Faria, a Cape Verdean vulcanologist, said the intensity of the eruption surpassed that of the 1995 eruption, and approached that of the 1951 eruption, one of the strongest ever recorded on the island. The eruption gained in intensity after 23 November 2014. The village of Portela in the Chã das Caldeiras is now covered by a lava stream which has completely destroyed the housing stock.
According to activity made by geologist José Madeira at the University of Lisbon and Instituto Dom Luiz, the total lava flow spewed between 100 and 125 million tons and destroyed buildings, agricultural land and different infrastructures and forced the displacement of about 1,000 people from two villages. Total damage costed about CV$5–6 billion escudos (45 million euros). [10]
At the start of the eruption the volcanic clouds headed south towards to Atlantic over the area of Achada Furna and Patim and hovered about 3,000–4,000 meters above sea level up to around 8,000 meters 100 km south and at the highest at 10 km above sea level and went as far as 200 to 300 km, a low pressure front later prevent it from going further, it also covered the areas of Monte Largo, Monte Grande, Salto, Vicente Dias and Fonte Aleixo and went close to São Filpe and its airport. Volcanic clouds were seen as far as the nearby islands of Brava and Santiago, on Santiago, the smoke was seen in the south of Praia and Cidade Velha, in other parts of Praia where the peak is not seen, only the smoke was seen but it was seen in the west of the island. At the end of November, volcanic clouds went north and northeast, first the cloud cover blocked it, then it went further when the cloud cleared For sometimes, the smoke was seen in Maio and other parts of Cape Verde during clear days. In early December, the clouds did not hovered over Achada Furna and Fonte Aleixo. After the volcanic activity was less intensified, the smoke clouds disappeared.
During the cloud cover, the only airport in the southwest of the country was closed and had their flights cancelled from the start of the eruption up to late December.
The 2014 eruption of the Pico do Fogo received limited attention in the international media. The geographer Christophe Neff wrote in a blog post about this fact. In this post – “L’éruption du Pico do Fogo du 23.11.2014 – l’éruption oublié …. (The eruption of the Pico do Fogo – the forgotten eruption)”. Neff writes that except for the Lusophone world, and some limited attention in the Francophone world (the country is member of the International Francophony Organisation (French: Organisation internationale de la Francophonie)), the eruption received little attention in the international media. [11]
Neff gave the example of Germany, where the first article in the German media, an article in Der Spiegel-online – was published only on 9 December 2014, over two weeks after the start of the eruption.
The British geologist David Rothery also posted a blog article "Why have we heard so little about the devastating Cape Verde volcano?" with a similar content. At the end of the article, Rothery placed a provocative question "Or do we care about volcanoes only if there's a chance of them inconveniencing our air-travel plans?"
After the eruption, the majority left the village as did with the previous eruption and temporarily resided in nearby places of Cabeça Fundão (during the eruption it was evacuated), Achada Furna, Fonte Aleixo, possibly Patim, Monte Largo and Estância Roque, Santa Catarina do Fogo, Mosteiros and São Filipe, possibly smaller numbers temporarily resides in Praia in the adjacent island and a handful in other countries. Cabeça Fundão on the park's edge became the seat of the natural park. Residents from Cabeça Fundão returned to their homes around mid-2015.
It had one of the best architecture, its buildings were made out of lava material and had circular huts known as funco where much of them were destroyed. Other buildings destroyed included the wine buildings and the school. Many streets including the main one were covered in lava. The volcanic observatory was unaffected as it is being on top of Pico da Caldeira uphill from Portela.
Starting in 2016, a few homes out of the same material were rebuilt and some of its inhabitants returned home. Civil engineer and politician Eunice Silva was in charge of the response to the eruption, including provision of housing, money and employment to those affected. [12] The Geographer Christophe Neff, wrote in his blog, after having been in Chã das Caldeiras in November 2017, that the reconstruction of the habitations in the Chã is progressing, and that some hotels are now rebuilt and open for travelers now. [13]
Several plants including some grapevines and endangered ones were killed by the eruption. It also affected its wine production.
As 84% of the endemic plants (31 total species) on Fogo are located in Chã and on the Bordeira. 48% of these are designated as rare and/or threatened on the Ministry of Environment, Agriculture, and Fisheries' (MAAP) “Red List. Several of these are located in Chã and the foot of Bordeira. Some or most of the endangered plants that were located in Chã were disappeared, within the peak and the south, there are hardly any plants. A few of them at the edge of Bordeira were also disappeared. Some of these were Echium vulcanorum , Erysimum caboverdeanum (wild carnation), Verbascum cystolithicum (black grass) and Lavandula rotundifolia (aipo). It was the only eruption that affected large numbers of endangered plants in Chã das Caldeiras.
A pyroclastic flow is a fast-moving current of hot gas and volcanic matter that flows along the ground away from a volcano at average speeds of 100 km/h but is capable of reaching speeds up to 700 km/h. The gases and tephra can reach temperatures of about 1,000 °C (1,800 °F).
Pico Island is an island in the Central Group of the Portuguese Azores. The landscape features an eponymous volcano, Ponta do Pico, which is the highest mountain in Portugal, the Azores, and the highest elevation of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. In the tradition of the Portuguese poet, Raul Brandão, Pico is referred to as the Ilha Preta, for its black volcanic soils, which nourish its UNESCO-designated vineyards that once allowed the development of the island's economy. Pico is the second largest and, geologically speaking, the most recently formed island of the Azores, being around 300,000 years old.
São Miguel Island, nicknamed "The Green Island", is the largest and most populous island in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. The island covers 760 km2 (290 sq mi) and has around 140,000 inhabitants, with 45,000 people residing in Ponta Delgada, the archipelago's largest city.
Fogo is an island in the Sotavento group of Cape Verde in the central Atlantic Ocean. Its population is 35,837 (2015), with an area of 476 km2. It reaches the highest altitude of all the islands in Cape Verde, rising to 2,829 metres above sea level at the summit of its active volcano, Pico do Fogo.
Faial Island, also known as Fayal Island, is a Portuguese island of the Central Group or Grupo Central of the Azores, in the Atlantic Ocean.
The Capelinhos is a monogenetic volcano located on the western coast of Faial Island in the Azores. It is part of the larger volcanic complex of Capelo, which includes 20 scoria cones and lava fields that are aligned west-northwest to east-southeast from the Caldeira Volcano caldera. Although the name "Capelinhos" is associated with the volcano, it technically refers to the western cape of the parish of Capelo. It can be considered the westernmost point of Europe; there are more westerly islands in the Azores archipelago but they lie on the North American Plate.
Praia do Norte is a civil parish of the municipality of Horta, located along the northern coast between Cedros and Capelo, on the Portuguese island of Faial, in the archipelago of the Azores. The population in 2011 was 250, in an area of 13.85 square kilometres (5.35 sq mi). It is the least populous parish on the island, reached along the Estrada Regional E.R.1-1ª regional roadway from the urban centre of Horta. It contains the localities Cerca, Fajã and Praia do Norte.
Chã das Caldeiras is a small community of approximately 700 inhabitants in the crater of the volcano Pico do Fogo on the island of Fogo, Cape Verde. The village consists of two main neighborhoods: Portela and Bangaeira, founded in 1920 and 1917, respectively. At an elevation of about 1,700 meters, it is the highest village in Cape Verde. It is part of the municipality of Santa Catarina do Fogo. The main organizing body in the village is the Associação dos Agricultores de Chã, an agricultural cooperative that holds considerable sway over the local economy. Chã is the only area in Cape Verde that grows significant quantities of grapes and produces export-quality wines.
Água de Pau Massif is a stratovolcanic complex, located in the central part of the island of São Miguel, in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. More recognizable for the Lagoa do Fogo at its centre, the volcanic complex includes centuries of geomorphological structures that include lava domes, cones and encrusted lava flows that have marked its history from, the last, 45,000 years BC.
Pico do Fogo is an active stratovolcano located on the island of Fogo, Cape Verde, rising to 2,829 metres (9,281 ft) above sea level. The main cone last erupted in 1680, causing mass emigration from the island. A subsidiary vent erupted in 1995. The only deadly eruption was in 1847 when earthquakes killed several people.
The following is a list of notable natural disasters that have affected the Azores:
Santa Catarina do Fogo is a concelho (municipality) of Cape Verde. Situated in the southeastern part of the island of Fogo, it covers 32% of the island area (152.95 km2), and is home to 14% of its population. Its seat is the city Cova Figueira. The Municipality of Santa Catarina do Fogo was created in 2005; before 2005, it was a parish of the Municipality of São Filipe.
Mount Pico is a currently dormant stratovolcano located on Pico Island, in the mid-Atlantic archipelago of the Azores. It is the highest mountain in Portugal, at 2,351 metres (7,713 ft) above sea level, and is one of the highest Atlantic mountains; it is more than twice the elevation of any other peak in the Azores. It has been a designated nature reserve since 1972.
Cabeça Fundão is a settlement in the southern part of the island of Fogo, Cape Verde and sits on the foot of the mountain rim of Bordeira. It is situated 16 km east of the island capital São Filipe. In 2010 its population was 177. The village is located on the road from Achada Furna to Chã das Caldeiras (EN3-FG05). Its elevation is about 1,570 meters. Cabeça Fundão lies directly south of the Fogo Natural Park.
The Picos Volcanic Fissural System is a system of scoria cones that build up the central region of the island of São Miguel. This volcano is very young with most of it only 5000 years old. The only recorded eruption was in 1652, but seven other eruptions have taken place in the cinder cone group in the last 10,000 years.
The Azores Geopark is a network of 121 geographically-dispersed sites of geographic heritage and marine areas that covers the nine volcanic islands of the archipelago of the Azores. This network is managed by the Azores Geopark Association, a non-profit association, with its headquarters in Horta on the island of Faial, established 19 May 2010. It is part of the European Geoparks Network and the UNESCO Global Geoparks Network. The Association's mission is to ensure the geological conservation, environmental education and sustainable development, while promoting the well-being of the population and a respect for the environment.
The Architecture of Cape Verde has different architectural styles. Unlike the African mainland, Cape Verde was uninhabited until 1461 when the Portuguese arrived, whereas most of the other islands were first inhabited after the end of the 15th century. Its architecture was introduced in the 1460s and has its first origins from Portuguese settlers from the Madeira Islands. The Manueline was its first architectural style, and was followed by Renaissance, Baroque, Pombaline, Early Modern and Modern.
Funco is a traditional Capeverdean house that originated in Africa.
Bordeira is a semicircular mountain in the middle of the island Fogo. It is a crater rim, up to 1 km high, formed by a prehistoric collapse of the volcano Pico do Fogo. At a maximum elevation of 2,692 metres (8,832 ft), it is the second highest point in the nation behind Pico do Fogo. The name literally means the "border". It forms part of Fogo Natural Park. Opening to the east, it effectively protects the northern, western and southern part of the island against lava flows from the volcano. The settlement Chã das Caldeiras lies at the foot of Bordeira, in the caldera. The east side of the Bordeira cliff is much steeper than the west side.