USGS/Cascades Volcano Observatory, Vancouver, Washington

Digitized TV images from Rabaul

Notes from CVO

I have posted the following images from Rabaul to this page for the convenience of U.S. WWW users. These images were provided by Graeme Wheller of the University of Tasmania, Australia digitized from TV footage. These images are provided for convenience only. USGS accepts no responsiblility for the content or interpretation of these images. The readme file provided with these images follows:

"At last, following a variety of delays, I've posted
12 new GIFs of the Rabaul eruption at info.utas.edu.au in
/departments/geology/rabaul. They may be downloaded by
anonymous ftp.

These images were digitised (with permission from the
copyright owner) from television video shown by the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) over the
last few nights of the week ending 23 September. There
is no information as to exactly when the film was
taken in Rabaul but it's safe to say that it was
during the latter part of the week, say 3-5 days
after the eruption began."

The images are as follows:

ABCPIC1.GIF:
Probably the eastern flank of the new Vulcan ash cone where it reaches the harbour.

ABCPIC2.GIF:
An unknown church almost totally destroyed.

ABCPIC3.GIF:
Cars abandoned in a carpark covered in ash

ABCPIC4.GIF:
Rabaul foreshore area showing collapsed buildings and sea covered by pumice

ABCPIC5.GIF:
r Rabaul foreshore area showing small boats inland (possibly pushed by a tidal surge or small tsunami)

ABCPIC6.GIF:
View of Vulcan (left) erupting a white plume and Tavurvur (right) erupting a black plume

ABCPIC7.GIF:
The President of the Rabaul Chamber of Commerce walking down a devastated street

ABCPIC8.GIF:
Rabaul a few days before the eruption, possibly the eastern side showing Tavurvur (I've never been there)

ABCPIC.GIF:
Probably Tavurvur, showing eruption plume and ash cloud over Rabaul (?looking north into harbour)

ABCPIC10.GIF:
Probably Vulcan, showing plume on eastern flank

Images provided by Graeme Wheller g.wheller@geol.utas.edu.au