Kilauea Eruption Prompts US Senate Action On Volcano Monitoring
The U.S. Senate passed a bill Thursday to upgrade the nation’s ability to monitor volcanoes and provide early warnings to those living in the shadows of their summits.
WASHINGTON 鈥 The same day Kilauea shot ash 30,000 feet into the air on Hawaii鈥檚 Big Island, the U.S. Senate passed bipartisan legislation that aims to create an early warning system for volcanoes.
Thursday鈥檚 eruption was the impetus for bringing the bill to the floor for a vote.
The , which still must pass the House and be signed by President Donald Trump, directs the U.S. Geological Survey to create a new federal “volcano watch office鈥 that would monitor active volcanoes in the U.S. and its territories on a 24/7 basis.
Such observatories already exist in Hawaii, Alaska, California, Wyoming and Washington, but the legislation would upgrade and integrate the systems, expand the number of volcanoes that are monitored and create a grant program that would support research into emergency technologies.
鈥淰olcanic eruptions, like the one in Hawaii and the one earlier this month at Cleveland Volcano in Alaska, are vivid reminders of why it is so critical to have continuous and reliable monitoring systems,鈥 U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said in a statement after Thursday鈥檚 vote.
Murkowski, a Republican who represents Alaska, introduced the bill in February 2017. It was co-sponsored by U.S. Sens. Mazie Hirono, of Hawaii, and Maria Cantwell, of Washington, both of whom are Democrats.
According to the USGS, there are in the U.S. with most of them in Alaska. The Cleveland Volcano, which Murkowski mentioned in her statement, is located in the Aleutian Islands earlier this month, spewing ash 22,000 feet into the air.
Recent activity at Kilauea displaced more than 2,000 residents and consumed dozens of homes. It鈥檚 also been the subject of high profile media coverage that鈥檚 reached beyond Hawaii.
鈥淪cientists at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory are working around the clock to provide critical, up-to-date information to keep Hawaii Island residents safe,鈥 Hirono said in a written statement about the legislation that passed Thursday.
鈥淭his bipartisan bill supports their important efforts by updating and unifying the five volcano observatories across the nation and creating a grant program to support monitoring research and technology development.鈥
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that if the legislation passed Thursday were implemented it would between 2018 and 2022.
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