Alert remains at Ruapehu after quake

Mt Ruapehu

Scientists have been unable to confirm if an eruption occurred during last night's volcanic earthquake at Mt Ruapehu, GNS Science says.

An alert was activated shortly before 10.30pm yesterday, which raised the lahar alert level to one, which meant signs of volcanic unrest.

The alert level remains at one.

GNS Science duty vulcanologist Steve Sherburn said staff were working with the Department of Conservation (DOC) to try to establish if there had been a lahar or if an earthquake had set the system off.

However, an attempt this morning to view the crater lake area from an aircraft failed due to the bad weather, he said.

GNS Science volcanologist Craig Miller said he had hoped to see if the lake was surrounded by blackened snow.

"All we could see was cloud," he said.

Mr Sherburn said the cause of the alert would remain uncertain until the weather cleared and there could be a proper examination.

"Part of the DOC lahar monitoring system appears to have been damaged at the time of the earthquake which suggests there may have been an eruption, but other monitoring data says that any eruption must have been relatively small," he said.

- NZPA