Originally Posted on June 02, 2011
The Geological Team headed by Professor Adam Terran at Mt Kila’s base was greeted with an unusual sight this morning among the rain - a Geyser that had pushed its way through the remains of last weeks eruption and Pyroclastic Flow that buried Volcano Town.
Photo Credit: BFOI E4 Taz Saints & Kazul (Flygon)
The Geyser heralds new discoveries as Geologists unravel mysteries brought to the surface by the forced eruption. But this is cold comfort to the residents of Volcano Town, as the Geysers presence confirms the land is too unstable to rebuild upon. As Prof. Terran observed in his reports, the forced eruption did more damage to Mt Kila and the surrounding area than a natural eruption likely would’ve done. In the step-by-step guide following, Prof. Terran explains to the ONN just what happened to Mt Kila during the night of the eruption.
“The night began calmly, as BFOI R3 progressed at the base of Mt Kila. The area had experienced a slight increase in tremors in recent weeks leading up to the events, but this was ‘par for the course’.”
“At 10:53pm, two explosive charges were detonated on the summit of Mt Kila, one charge on the recently weakened east face of the Crater Rim, and the other apparently dropped into the Crater Lake itself. This blew out a sizeable hole in the crater causing the crater begin emptying towards Volcano Town.”
“The emptying of the crater lake rapidly reduced the temperature inside the magma tube and not unlike the effect of a geyser, the pressure and temperature dropped essentially ‘mixed’ and created a chemical chain reaction the forced the contents of the magma chamber upwards causing Mt Kila to go into a full scale eruption.”
“It was quite fortunate that the BFOI was hosting a Round of their contest at this time, as the quick thinking of the Gym Leader proved invaluable in aiding the evacuation of Volcano Town, sparing many lives of what could’ve been a horrific tragedy.”
“Thanks to the efforts of Trainers and Pokémon alike, Volcano Town was fully evacuated with only minor injuries reported well before the main event came to a head.”
“After hours of people fighting the lava flows, magma bombs, ash fallout, and fires that had broken out, Mt Kila fell silent at 2:06 am. We mistakenly believed this to be the end of the eruption at first.”
“It was only the herald of something more destructive however, as Mt Kila had completely emptied itself, and in the process had ruptured the main magma tube, and created fractures all throughout the Volcano. Its own weight was starting to crush it.”
“At 2:14 am, gravity won and Mt Kila suffered a catastrophic collapse, falling to pieces on itself, and dropping in height by several hundred metres. While empty of magma, it was most certainly not empty of other material, and a colossal mass of volcanic ash, gases, rock, and mud was ejected into the air as the volcano collapsed in on itself.”
“The ejected material, coming directly from the mouth of the volcano itself, was superheated at temperatures in excess of 900ºC/1650ºF. This amazing heat created a convection current, and it was mere minutes before the material cooled enough to begin falling back to terra firma. The result was a Type-4 Pyroclastic Flow; a torrent of mud, ash and volcanic debris that buried the new ghost town below it in seconds.”
“A week later, we have been able to get near the Volcano again, and despite the torrential rain, have found that previously unknown underwater springs have been ruptured by the immense tremors, allowing superheated water to make its way to the surface.”
“While this means Volcano Town residents cannot hope to rebuild on the same land due to the thermal instability, it does open up more options for scientific study as well as the very real possibility of Ohana being able to boast a viable thermal park within a few short years.”
When asked about the stability of Mt Kila in regards to any future eruptions, Prof Terran assured us that it was very much out of steam and had very little chance of erupting again during our lifetimes. A small comfort, but nowhere near enough for the residents of Volcano Town, whose lives have been uprooted by this horrific event. Police are still on the hunt for suspects, and while rumours are spreading that Team Magma are responsible, the Police have issued no comment regarding as such.
Stay tuned to the ONN for updates on this and other related stories -
