Hydrothermal eruption in Lake Rotorua

An Ohinemutu resident has described her fear after waking to the sound of a "geyser" of water shooting 20m to 30m in the air from Lake Rotorua.

Resident Lani Kereopa was woken by the loud noise about 4am and said it sounded like a "a big thump and spraying sound afterwards".

Ms Kereopa said growing up in the pa she was used to geothermal activity but had never experienced something "on this scale".

"Twenty-five metres from my house a geyser was erupting out of the lake".

Ms Kereopa said the panic started and she woke her family before they all drove up the hill to shine the lights down on the lake to try and see what was going on.

She said she wasn't sure what to do, or whether to wake up the rest of the village.
"It looked like Pohutu Geyser but with a lot more water."

GNS has confirmed the hydrothermal eruption, with duty volcanologist Brad Scott describing it as unusual.

The style of eruption was one which hadn't been seen in Rotorua since about 2000 or 2001 and was "slightly anomalous", he said.

Mr Scott said the last significant steam eruptions in Rotorua were about 15 years ago, and they weren't sure why it had happened again.

Read the full story on the NZ Herald.