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Turrialba Volcano in Costa Rica

Turrialba Volcano, in Costa Rica, erupted on 12 March 2015, coating much of the nation's Central Valley in ash. Residents in the area were evacuated for their safety.

It was reportedly the most powerful eruption of the volcano in the past twenty years. The ash from the volcano spread over a 40 kilometre area, leaving a layer several millimetres thick.

The volcano has been active for several years, but grew more so during the last few months, culminating in these latest explosions, which were more powerful than previous eruptions. Turrialba erupted three times on 12 March, and once more on the following day. No new eruptions have occurred since then, but the volcano remains under close observation in case of further activity.

There were concerns that lava had also erupted from the volcano, but later analysis revealed that this was rocks at a very high temperature exploding from Turrialba instead. The ash cloud from the volcano is expected to be blown toward the Pacific Ocean. No fatalities or injuries have been reported.

Type of Event:Volcano
Location of Event:Turrialba Volcano, Costa Rica
Date of Charter Activation:14 March 2015
Time of Charter Activation:18:40:00
Time zone of Charter Activation:UTC+01:00
Charter Requestor:USGS
Project Management:OFDA-USGS Volcano Disaster Assistance Program

Products

Comparison of eruptions at Turrialba Volcano in Costa Rica

Copyright: DigitalGlobe Inc. All rights reserved
Map produced by USGS

Information about the Product

Acquired: 25/02/2014, 22/12/2014, 17/02/2015, 14/03/2015

Source: GeoEye-1

View of Turrialba Volcano, Costa Rica, before and after eruption

Copyright: Pleiades © CNES 2015 - Distribution: Airbus Defence and Space, all rights reserved
RapidEye © BlackBridge AG 2015 - All rights reserved
Map produced by USGS

Information about the Product

Acquired: Pleiades: 18/03/2015
RapidEye: 01/04/2014

Source: Pleiades / RapidEye

View of Turrialba Volcano eruption, Costa Rica

Copyright: CNES 2015 - Distribution: Airbus Defence and Space, all rights reserved
Map produced by USGS

Information about the Product

Acquired: 18/03/2015

Source: Pleiades

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