Kiwi 'Lord of the Rings' volcano erupts after century of dormancy
Sydney, Nov 21 (ANI)
New Zealand's Mount Tongariro volcano in the central North Island has erupted, sending a black plume of gas and ash up to two kilometer into the air.
The official GNS Science monitoring service issued a potential threat alert after the eruption at the North Island volcano, which became active in August this year after lying dormant for more than a century.
The volcano was featured as Mount Doom in 'The Lord of the Rings' movies.
GNS Science duty volcanologist Nico Fournier told APNZ the eruption happened about 1.20pm local time.
"There was one eruption, essentially one explosion, and it was not sustained. It spewed some ash possibly a couple of kilometres up the air. The ash is now drifting to the east-southeast," the Herald Sun quoted Fournier, as saying.
According to the people, Civil Defence have advised people living in or near by areas to stay indoors.
Civil Defence is monitoring the situation, but described the event as minor, the report added.