Eruption at Ambryon.

Opunake Times, Volume I, Issue 44, 30 November 1894, Page 4

Eruption at Ambryon.

Sydney, 'November 26. Details of an eruption at Ambryon, in the New Hebrides, show it to have been one of the most remarkable disturbances recorded in the South Seas. As the flow of molten lava came on filling up valleys on its course towards the sea the rush and roar became louder, and every now and then, amid the dense smoke caused by the lava setting fire to everything, would rise np a volume of steam as it rushed into the stream. The lava travelled several miles before reaching the sea. It completely swept cliffs away for a width of thirty yards, and poured into the ocean with a tremendous roar and hissing noise. When the glowing mass touched the water an immense volume of steam' arose to a height which the officers of the Dart measured as 4000 feet, and the sea boiled furiously, so that the man-of-war had to move out of reach. A continual fall of volcanic dust and other debris is still going on, which is completely covering everything. It is feared the natives will be reduced to starvation by the destruction of crops. Should the fall continue much longer all vegetation will be killed from its effects. During the night shock after shock of earthquake occurred, some very violent, causing a sickly sensation amongst the crew. From Port Sandwich, 12 miles distant, Ambryon looks like an island covered with snow. When the eruption occurred the natives were terror-stricken, men, women and children fleeing for their lives.