Geological survey GeoNet said it had detected nearly 700 small earthquakes beneath Lake Taupo, the caldera created by the Taupo volcano and New Zealand’s largest lake. In a statement, it said it raised the volcanic alert level to 1 from 0. The volcanic warning system is based on six escalating levels of unrest, but Geonet notes that eruptions can occur at any level and the levels may not move sequentially as activity can change rapidly. The Taupo volcano last erupted about 1,800 years ago, when it spewed more than 100 cubic kilometers of material into the atmosphere around 200 BC. The eruption destroyed a large area of the central North Island of New Zealand in a period before human habitation. Geonet says the eruption was the largest on the planet in the last 5,000 years. The agency added that this was the first time it had raised the alert level for the Taupo volcano to 1, but it was not the first time there had been unrest and said the chance of an eruption remained very low. Earthquakes ‘may continue’ He said: “Earthquakes and deformations could continue for weeks or months to come.” New Zealand sits on the boundary between the Pacific and Australian tectonic plates and experiences significant volcanism and earthquake activity. Read more: Super typhoon Nanmadol hits southern Japan Dramatic images show Tonga covered in ash In 2019, White Island, known as Whakaari, suddenly erupted and spewed steam and ash, killing 22 people and seriously injuring 25, mostly tourists.
