That's volcanic!!

Today is the anniversary of the eruption sequence that began on Ruapehu in 1995. It seems appropriate that yesterday we had a meeting of the Central Plateau Volcanic Advisory Group. The CPVAG (which really rolls off the tongue) has met several times now since the the 18 March 2007 dam break lahar and is really the next generation for volcanic hazard research and planning co-ordination. The Group meets 6 monthly to discuss a range of issues and is divided into three focus groups for science, emergency planning and communications.

At yesterday's meeting, we were updated on recent volcanic activity (or lack thereof), some of the improvements to warning systems and recent research activities. The Group has all but signed off on the Volcanic Strategy and is starting to think about the Contingency Plan. This work is intended to build on the good work taken in preparation for the dam break lahar and to cover awider geographic area.

For memory sake, this video was shot by crazy cameraman (and all round adrenalin junkie) Geoff Mackley (good on you Geoff!). You see the video on YouTube - it's quite good!