Reunion on high alert.
Piton de la Fournaise, the famous volcano on the island in the Indian Ocean, could very soon erupt, the local prefecture announced on Wednesday, September 7.
The prefect triggered alert 1 of the ORSEC system, which consists of organizing relief in the event of an event seriously affecting the population.
This emergency plan began at 5 p.m. this Wednesday (3 p.m. in mainland France).
Access to the entire enclosure encircling the Piton de la Fournaise has been prohibited.
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According to our colleagues from Réunion 1ère, a seismic crisis was recorded at 4:54 p.m. by the volcanological observatory of Piton de la Fournaise (OPVF).
It would testify "
to a weakening of the environment and indicates that the magma leaves its magmatic reservoir to spread to the surface
", indicate the scientists to the local media.
And to temper: "
The seismic crisis lasts, but we are not yet certain that it will lead to an eruption, it can also stop
", explains the deputy director of the observatory, Philippe Kowalski.
Alert level 1
According to the observatory on its website, alert level 1 corresponds to "
signs of increasing activity which could result in the formation of an eruptive fissure
".
The evacuation of the populations present on the site is then mandatory.
Alert 2, for its part, indicates that an eruption is in progress, and alert 2-3 that the eruption is located outside the enclosure, and that it "
presents a real threat to the safety of people, property or the environment
".
The last eruption of the piton began on December 11, 2021 and ended on January 17.
