On 27 March the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geohazards Department (VMGD) reported that during the previous month small fumarolic steam plumes were continuously emitted at Lopevi’s summit crater based on recent photos and webcam images. Low-level thermal anomalies were identified in satellite images on 19 and 24 March. Seismic data confirmed continuing unrest. The Alert Level remained at 2 (on a scale of 0-4).

Geological Summary. The small 7-km-wide conical island of Lopevi, known locally as Vanei Vollohulu, is one of Vanuatu's most active volcanoes. A small summit crater containing a cinder cone is breached to the NW and tops an older cone that is rimmed by the remnant of a larger crater. The basaltic-to-andesitic volcano has been active during historical time at both summit and flank vents, primarily along a NW-SE-trending fissure that cuts across the island, producing moderate explosive eruptions and lava flows that reached the coast. Historical eruptions at the 1413-m-high volcano date back to the mid-19th century. The island was evacuated following major eruptions in 1939 and 1960. The latter eruption, from a NW-flank fissure vent, produced a pyroclastic flow that swept to the sea and a lava flow that formed a new peninsula on the western coast.

Source: Vanuatu Meteorology and Geohazards Department (VMGD)