Eruption of Ruapehu June 1996On 17. June 1996, early in the morning, radio broadcasts announced another eruption of Ruapehu (this eruptive phase had started in September 1995). Hans Aeschlimann immediately travelled from Palmerston North towards the volcano. The huge ash column was already visible from a distance of 100 km as the air was particularly clear on that day. The following photos illustrate the first two days of the eruption. | |||
 17. June around midnight, f 50mm, exposure about 10 mins from Ohakune. The volcano ejects bombs of up to several meters in diameter. |  Noon 17. June, f 200mm: A mushroom-shaped cloud gets ejected with explosive force and attains an altitude of about 7 km. |  Afternoon 18. June, f 200 mm: Steam and ash columns are erupted every few minutes. |  Afternoon 18. June, f 200mm: The ash drifts towards the NE so that the cattle on this side of the volcano is in no danger. |
 18. June morning, f 50mm: The view from the air reveals the large extent of the ash deposits. |  18. June, f 200mm: 20 km high ash cloud at sunset. At this time Auckland airport had to be closed down. |  «Le Chateau» on 18. June: For safety reasons the water supply of the hotel had to be closed down and the people evacuated. |  March 1996, f 24mm: The eruption of 1995 had caused various lahars. The effects of these are visible here. |
| Copyright all photos: Hans Aeschlimann | |||