Ruapehu mayor says safety systems may be reviewed after Whakaari/White Island eruption

Tuesday, 10 December 2019

Ruapehu District Mayor Don Cameron said he was sure there would be a review of all their systems after the incident on White Island.

Ruapehu District Mayor Don Cameron said he thinks there will be a review of safety systems for tourism in high volcanic zones in Ruapehu district.

It comes after an eruption on Whakaari/White Island on Monday caused the deaths of five people, injured 31 and left eight more unaccounted for and believed dead.

Active volcanoes Mount Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro are located in Tongariro National Park in the district.

Every year, thousands of people visit the Ruapehu ski field or walk in the national park.

**READ MORE:

The start of the Tongariro Alpine Crossing at Tongariro National Park. Thousands of people visit the crossing each year.

* White Island eruption live: 'Disaster waiting to happen'

* Whakaari / White Island eruption: What scientists say about the volcano

* Whakaari: This is the family that privately owns White Island**

Cameron said he did not think there would be a major change to the tourist industry in his district, but was meeting operators in Ohakune and Taumaranui on Tuesday to discuss the issue.

Mountain guide Stewart Barclay said the business receives regular updates when there is a change of volcanic activity within Tongariro National Park.

He was confident in the safety measures operating around the volcanic areas.

'I'm confident we do have the right measures in place, there is a lot of monitoring that goes on there at the moment. GNS have instruments measuring the heat of the lake at Ruapehu, for example.

'Any heightened activity at Ruapehu or Tongariro, Department of Conservation will put a stop to anyone coming through.'

But Cameron said he thought there would be a review of the district's systems anyway.

'After White Island I'm sure there will be a review, involving our tourism operators, iwi, DOC, emergency management, about our systems up there.'

DOC indicated it would not be able to comment on the prospect of a review yet.

Adrift tours owner-operator Stewart Barclay runs guided walking tours for the Tongariro Crossing, at Mount Ngauruhoe and a Mt Ruapehu crater lake tour.

He has been operating tours within the national park for the past twenty years.

He receives regular updates from GNS when there is a change in volcanic activity and alert levels between 0-5 scale the volcanic activity, he said.

Mount Tongariro erupted in 2012, which caused the park to close. No one was injured in the incident.

Usually it is up for the tourism operators to read the information and decide whether to go, Barclay said.

But the Department of Conservation has the power to close the Tongariro National Park if there is high volcanic activity.

'When Tongariro erupted in 2012 the park closed for a period of time.'

There was 'a lot of monitoring going on', he thought, but he did not want to comment on whether the right systems were in place, or whether the tourism industry would be affected by the incident.

'Mountains have a habit of behaving like a disobedient child, without any warning they can erupt and it's difficult to predict.

'Having said that, we are tour operators - we are very very good at guiding on mountains. We are not volcanologists.'

Mt Ruapehu erupted dramatically in 1995 and 1996, sending clouds of ash and spewing huge boulders into the vicinity.

In 2007, the crater lake at Mt Ruapehu spilled lahars down two sides of a mountain injuring two climbers in a nearby hut, including William Pike, who lost his leg.

Mt Tongariro was dormant for more than 100 years when it erupted in 2012, closing the Tongariro National Park. The Ketetahi Hut was damaged but no one was injured in the incident.