Rumbling Rabul Part 3

Charles standing on Rabul's ash strewn runway next to one of the third level airlines aircraft that didn't make it out. Tavurvur volcano smoking in the background.

In the last issue of the Gazette I told of the final happenings of the 1937 eruption, the invasion by the Japanese Forces in January 1942, the destruction of Rabaul town by Allied bombing during the 2nd World War, and the town’s rebirth after the war.
During the period 1945 to the early 1980s, the volcanoes around Rabaul had quietened down considerably. There were some minor earth tremors in this period that might indicate a possible volcanic eruption but these tremors just passed on regardless. The town of Rabaul is the only town in the world built within an active volcanic caldera and is vulnerable to eruptions from the historically active volcanoes that contribute to the superb scenery of Rabaul Harbour.
A volcanic Alert declared in October, 1983, drew the attention of people in Rabaul and in the surrounding area to the possibility of a volcanic outbreak within weeks to months. This warning led not only to considerable anxiety within the community, but to emergency preparations being made. The premonitory signs of an impending eruption declined after April, 1984 and, as of October 1985, the town returned to normal. However Rabaul remained volcanically vulnerable.
This vulnerability came true in a massive eruption in September 1994 that changed Rabaul forever. It was PNG’s Independence long weekend of Friday 16th to Sunday 18th September 1994 and there were a number of parties in progress in Rabaul town. Staff from the Rabaul Volcano Observatory were at one of the Independent functions on Saturday night 17th September and comments were being made about the lack of felt earthquakes in the preceding months. Feelings were mixed - some disappointed by the lack of activity, others relieved they could sleep soundly at night. The residents were assured that there were no signs of any change in the volcanoes - no increases in ground deformation, no changes in temperature, no changes in the number of earthquakes. When the residents of Rabaul went to sleep on that Saturday night the information was correct - but not for long!
At 2.50am on Sunday morning 18th September 1994 a large Guria (earthquake) suddenly shook the township of Rabaul and everyone was surprised by the severity of it, and no wonder, it measured 5.1 on the Richter Scale! The residents went back to sleep rather nervously wondering what happened. The gurias continued on and off all day on Sunday 18th September and people continued on with their activities. Some went fishing, swimming and picnicking. Staff at the Rabaul Volcano Observatory (RVO) checked the seismographs and it was obvious the gurias were local (in the harbour), not regional (from plate movement). Staff at the RVO continued to monitor all the activity going on and things were not looking good by late Sunday afternoon and at 7pm a Stage II alert was declared. This was a preliminary warning stage and people were already acting on their instincts. People were already leaving Rabaul for either Kokopo or to the northern parts of the Gazelle Peninsula.
Around 2am on Monday morning 19th September 1994 residents were woken by the drone of planes taking off from Rabaul airport. This was serious as Rabaul airstrip has no lights so flying at night was prohibited. It was soon discovered that Police were ordering the evacuation of the town. The two third level airline operators had rounded up all their pilots and were using the light of the full moon and headlights of cars positioned along the runway to fly as many planes out as possible. Unfortunately not all planes made it out. Ships and small vessels were also leaving Rabaul Harbour.
At around 6am on Monday morning 19th September Tavurvur volcano (situated near Rabaul Airport) went into full eruption without any warning and by 7.30am the dense ash cloud from Tavurvur had almost enveloped the town centre. Just after 7.30am a mighty BOOM was heard and Vulcan volcano on the opposite side of the harbour to Tavurvur went into an almighty explosive eruption and now Rabaul was facing two huge volcanic eruptions at the same time.
When Vulcan volcano erupted, another explosion out the side of it hit the water surface causing huge steam clouds to appear. Explosion followed explosion as both volcanoes vented their fury on Rabaul. Rocks and ash were hurled up into the sky with a mighty force and forked lightning and thunder pierced through the huge black clouds of ash and pumice and the smell of sulphur was sickening. By now, the remaining residents of Rabaul were desperately fleeing as the huge clouds started descending on the town. Homes were hurriedly evacuated, no time to worry about personal effects and even some pets had to be left behind. Business’s had no time at all to get anything out as it was a matter of survival of oneself. In addition, power to the town had been cut off making things even more difficult for the residents.
Due to unusual thermal patterns mud rain started falling and soon roads became impassable. At some stages, what was thought to be heavy rain falling on the roof of a car was in fact small particles of pumice raining down from the sky. By now millions of tons of volcanic ash and pumice were being shot skyward for several thousand feet into the atmosphere from both volcanoes with the heavier particles soon falling back to earth covering an area of nearly forty square kilometres or more from north of Rabaul down to a few kilometres south of Vulcan towards Kokopo.
Tuesday 20th September brought much of the same. The atmosphere was still very heavy, no power, and the noise of the thunder and lightning was constant with some almighty cracks of lightning hitting coconut trees and causing them to explode as reported by some of the residents. An emergency radio station was set up at the Ralum Club, boats were organized to rescue people in outer areas, people continued to search for safer areas to shelter. Roads were still cut in many areas from floods caused by the heavy rains that accompanied the storms. Wednesday 21st September 1994 (day 3) brought clearer skies but both volcanoes were still emitting material and it now gave a better chance to assess the damage done to Rabaul.
Over 93% 0f Rabaul town had been totally destroyed caused by the huge amounts of volcanic ash that fell on every building affected. It was the sheer weight of the ash as it piled up thicker and thicker on the near flat roofs of these buildings that eventually caused the rooves to collapse and the ash crashing down onto everything underneath together with the roof itself was the main cause of the massive damage to the buildings. Amazingly the three hotels in Rabaul survived any major damage because of their solid construction. Some other parts within Rabaul had no ash fall at all while just a few meters away ash was several meters thick on the ground. Amazingly, no lives were lost during this massive eruption while back in the 1937 eruption over 500 lives were lost.
Businesses affected in Rabaul moved out to Kokopo 35km to the south to set up temporary operations while a more permanent location at an industrial site just out of Kokopo was being organized. It was finally decided that Rabaul will never be rebuilt and that Kokopo will now become the main centre.
The company I once worked for in PNG, (Ela Motors), had its entire branch in Rabaul destroyed together with 50 new and used vehicles. It was the largest of all Ela Motors branches in PNG. The remaining shell of the complex was bulldozed down and all that remains in its place to this day is a bare ash-covered piece of ground.
I was called up to Rabaul in September 1996 (two years after the main event) to help set up a new smaller branch for Ela Motors about two hundred meters from the original site. I was to spend nearly three months in Rabaul and during this time I spent every weekend out looking and photographing the terrible damage done to what once used to be the “jewel” of PNG. I took over 300 photos of the damage to Rabaul including many from a helicopter. I brought back with me in plastic film containers samples of volcanic ash that I took from six different locations including Vulcan and Tavurvur volcanoes and Rabaul airport and town and all are different in colour and texture.
During my stay Tavurvur volcano went into eruptions many times and this caused even more ash to fall on Rabaul making it still unhealthy for those business’s which re-opened there to continue on. Ela Motors closed their “new” branch in Rabaul in November 1998 and they now operate from their much larger branch in the industrial area at Kokopo. Many people who were employed in Rabaul in Government departments or private enterprise and who were present during this mighty event left Rabaul never to return. I will always have very fond memories of Rabaul for I saw it several times in all its beauty before the 1994 eruption and to see it after the main event was very disturbing indeed.
Charles Betteridge.
Footnote:
A scientist working at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory confirmed a giant volcanic eruption in the South Pacific in the 15th Century that until recently was known only in island legends. The powerful eruption broke a big island in half, created a submerged crater 800 metres deep and interrupted a battle raging half a world away - the siege and fall of Constantinople. The scientist (Keviv Pang) said he first heard of the legend of the volcano from scientists studying the islands of Tongoa and Epi in The Republic of Vanuatu volcanic arc, about 2000kms east of Australia.
Once a single island, Tongoa and Epi are now separated by Kuwae, a huge submerged crater. Pang said the eruption which created the crater was equivalent to two million Hiroshima-type atomic bombs and blew vast quantities of rock and dust into the atmosphere which would have changed the world’s climate. He fixed the year of the explosion as 1453. He also found mention of the volcano’s effects in chronicles of the final days of Constantinople, last bastion of the Byzantine empire, besieged and conquered by Ottoman Turks in 1453.