However, weather and hydrology expert Dr. Htun Lwin determines the possibility of a tsunami occurrence is very minimal, and if it takes place, it will cause only little a bit destruction.
Dr. Htun Lwin said, “A tsunami will only occur in four stages. These are that there will be a quake at the bottom of the river, the strength will be more than 7.0, the center of the quake will be at a shallow depth, it won’t be more than 70 kilometres and the ground shaking will be both under and above. That is the extent of the tsunami. That is what is worrying. But that is my opinion and I am not sure whether the tsunami will occur. Yet, we all have to wait and see.”
At the moment, Barren Island volcano is at the stage of a small explosive eruption according to world earthquake experts.
“Throughout world history, there has been only one time a tsunami occurred as a result of a volcano erupting on an island. That was in 1883. The eruption on that island was similar to that of Barren Island, geologically. If that volcano [on Barren Island] goes off, it is possible that a tsunami can take place. If it happens, we predict that we will only have one hour or half an hour to prepare, and at the moment, planes have been warned to be careful flying over the area,” said U Soe Thura Htun, an earthquake expert.
Barren Island is an active volcano located about 250 miles from the Burmese coast, between India and Burma. It is 354 metres high from the ground to summit of the volcano, and comes from a sea depth of about 2250 metres.
