Legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate by Senators Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Maria Cantwell, D-Wash, and Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, would improve the nation’s volcano monitoring and early warning capabilities to alert area residents.
S. 346 would unify the Alaska Volcano Observatory, the Cascades Volcano Observatory and the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory into a single connected system called the National Volcano Early Warning System.
These observatories monitor, warm and help protect residents and travelers from volcanic activity, particularly from high threat volcanoes.
The bill would also create a Volcano Watch Office to operate around the clock, seven days a week, to provide continuous situational awareness of all active volcanoes in the United States and its territories.
The Alaska Volcano Observatory has been underfunded since it was formed in 1988, after an eruption of Mount Augustine, Murkowski said. AVO monitors 29 active volcanoes in Alaska and is one of the busiest observatories in the world. Cascades Volcano Observatory is responsible for monitoring volcanoes in Washington, Oregon and Idaho, including Washington’s Mount Baker, Glacier Peak, Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens, and Mount Adams.
The Hawaiian volcano Observatory on the island of Hawaii, which was the first volcano observatory in the U.S., has monitored volcanoes, including Kilauea and Mauna Loa, for more than a century.
Murkowski is the chair, and Cantwell is the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, which has jurisdiction over the Volcano Hazards Program at the U.S. Geological Survey. Hirono is also a member of that committee.
