1999

Below is the Quake Watch extreme quake and volcano activity through 1999. Quake Watch stopped at this point as the trend had become obvious.

• A new volcanic island (Unnamed) emerged from the ocean 30 miles from the Tongan capital of Naku'alofa on January 18, 1999, per Volcano World. Warnings were issued to ships traveling near the area.
• Mt. Etna erupted again on February 4, 1999, per Volcano World, opening a new vent on the volcano's southeastern side and releasing a huge jet of lava.
• Krakatau erupted on February 4, 1999 with an explosion that could be heard 40 miles away, per Volcano World. Smoke reached 1,000 feet above the crater.
• Bezymianny, on the Russian Peninsula, sustained a large explosion, sending gas and ash plumes 5 miles into the air on February 24, 1999 per Volcano World.
• Mount Cameroon in Africa exploded on April 2, 1999, adding three more vents to the four already escaping on the sides of the volcano. The Panafrican News Agency reported the fresh rumblings shook nearby villages and destroyed 14 houses. 247 people living in villages surrounding the 4070-metre high mountain were made homeless following the destruction of their homes by the earth tremors.
• Shishaldin, on the Russian Peninsula, extruded glowing rocks, causing snowmelt, and sending plumes 45,000 feet in the air on April 19, 1999 per Volcano World.
• The Volcanological Society of Indonesia reported that during the days leading up to May 3, 1999, ash emission, white in color and reaching 400m in height, was observed at Java's Slamet. This was accompanied by hot spring measurements showing a rise from 40.1o to 81.1o C. and seismic events dominated by tremors, which had a 4 to 30 mm amplitude. The volcano status was raised to the alert level.
• Fox News reported that officials in Colima and jalisco states in Mexico evacuated several hundred people from villages at the foot of Colima, a 13,325 foot volcano, which sent a 15,000 foot high plume of ash and gas into the air May 10, 1999. A large new hole opened in the crater. Colima’s last eruption was in 1994.
• On May 20, 1999, Discovery News reported that Mexico's Volcan de Fuego let out 20 outbursts during a 24-hour period, sending volcanic ash raining onto surrounding communities. The Volcan de Fuego is situated about 280 miles (450 km) west of Mexico City, on the border between the states of Colima and Jalisco.
• Fox News reported on May 22, 1999 that Guatemala's Volcan de Fuego (Volcano of Fire), which last erupted in 1978, began ejecting ash and rocks. Volcan de Fuego, near the colonial city of Antigua, some 30 miles (48 km) southwest of the capital Guatemala City, has had violent eruptions in the past.
• On May 26, 1999, Nicaragua's Telica volcanoe erupted again, though Telica's magmatic eruptions appear to be less violent than those of nearby Cerro Negro which last erupted in 1995.
• Mount Cameroon, known locally as Mount Faka, the highest peak in West and Central Africa, poured more magma from its crater on June 10, 1999 and appeared to be on the verge of another eruption, per Volcano World.
• The Indonesia stratovolcano Lewotobi, on the Flores Islands, erupted again on July 1, 1999, per Volcano World.
• Kliuchevskoi, one of the most active volcanoes on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, erupted again on July 1, 1999 per Volcano World, sending a plume of gas and steam 50 meters above the crater.
• Fox News reported on July 6, 1999 that an eruption by the Philippine Mayon volcano is pending, as lava has been moving within the magma chambers. Mayon last erupted on June 22, 1999 when it sent smoke and ash 4 miles into the sky.
• Reunion's Piton de la Fournaise (Fiery Peak) volcano, located on the island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean some 118 miles southwest of the island of Mauritius, erupted again on July 20, 1999, per Discovery Online.
• Montserrat continues to explode and erupted with a powerful blast on July 21, 1999 that sent ash soaring as high as 40,000 feet into the Caribbean sky, per Discovery Online, where it could be seen by airline pilots.
• Discovery Online reported that the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences had said that the White Island volcano, off New Zealand's northeastern coast, erupted on July 23, 1999, spewing steam and ash about 10,000 feet into the air.
• Mexico's Colima volcano, located 110 miles south of Guadalajara, erupted again on July 29, 1999, spewing ash from the 13,448 foot crater. This was the fourth eruption during July alone, per Volcano World. Discovery Online reported that disaster authorities evacuated residents from the town of Yerbabuena in the state of Colima, where the volcano is located, as well as from five communities in the neighboring state of Jalisco.
• Discovery Online reported that subterranean explosions and tremors on the Cerro Negro volcanoe on August 9, 1999 forced evacuations from the Nicaraguan city of Leche Cuajo. Cerro Negro, which is considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in Central America, became active again after four years of silence when lava and ash began spewing from three new openings in the volcano, which is located about 44 miles northwest of the capital city of Managua.
• Nicaragua's Telica volcano roared back to life on August 11, 1999, spewing hot ash and rocks, per Discovery Online. The 1,650-foot (503 metre) volcano, located 50 miles (80 km) north of the capital city of Managua, sent up a huge plume of smoke and ash, which later blanketed nearby villages with ash. Activity within the volcano had increased for the past month after it first sent out a plume of smoke in June.
• On August 12, 1999, the Karymsky volcano on the Russian Peninsula erupted again with 15 gas explosions and possible pyroclastic flows, per Volcano World.
• The stratovolcanoe Guagua Pichincha, in Ecuador, located 7 miles from Ecuador's capitol city of Quito, erupted again on August 12, 1999, per Volcano World. This was the seventh reported activity in the volcano during 1999.
• Mexico's Popocatepetl continued activity on August 19, 1999, per Volcano World, the fifth alert during 1999 where eruptions of ash and gas affecting nearby communities have occurred.Fuego, in Guatemala, Central America's more active volcanoe, erupted again on July 26, 1999, per Volcano World. Popocatepetl was silent for 67 years until it exploded back to life four years ago.
• Japan’s Mt. Shindaka on Kuchinoerabujima Island showed signs of increased activity on Aug 27, 1999, per Discovery Online. Shindaka is a 2,140-foot volcano located in Kagoshima Prefecture about 620 miles southwest of Tokyo, and last erupted in 1996.
• The Philippines Taal volcano activated again per Discovery Online on Oct 1, 1999. Taal, which is 47 miles south of Manila, last erupted in 1977 and prior to that, in 1965.
• Ecuador’s active volcano Tungurahua, near the capitol of Quito, exploded with gases again per Discovery Online on Oct 7, 1999.
• Villarrica, in Chile, erupted again on Oct 17, 1999, per Volcano World.
• Two Nicaragua volcanoes increased their activity, per Discovery Online on Nov 23, 1999 - San Cristobal, 95 miles northwest of Managua, and Masaya, also close to Managua.
• Mt. Marsili, which rises 9,800 feet from the seabed in the Tyrrhenian Sea southwest of Naples, was believed to be dormant but is now active, per Discovery Online on Nov 28, 1999.