Unendurable

Dust

What Matupi is Doing to Rabaul

From Our Own Correspondent

Rabaul, July 7.

MATUPI volcano has been quiet for a couple of days; but there is no guarantee that the emissions of clouds of dust, which have been going on irregularly for some time now, will not begin again at any moment.

Compared with our experiences in the 1937 eruption, there has been nothing alarming in Matupi’s activity; but the conditions created have been almost intolerable.

Clouds of pumice dust rise from the volcano to a height of 700 or 1,000 feet; and these are slowly carried by the pre vailing south-east winds to the north wards, where they fall upon the town of Rabaul. There is dust everywhere—on the roads, in the gardens, in the houses, even in one’s food. Cars plough through it in the streets, raising it into clouds again; it lies thickly on the roofs and is washed into the water-tanks. It gets into the throat and lungs, and causes extreme irritation.

In so many words, it can be said that if these discharges of pumice dust from Matupi are to be a regular or frequent thing, life in Rabaul will not only be uncomfortable beyond words—it will be unendurable.

Everyone is hoping that this particular form of volcanic activity will die away.

If it does not, it may be taken as cer tain that it will compel the evacuation of Rabaul.

This significant paragraph appeared m “Rabaul Times” on June 20:— “Householders should remember to dis connect their water down-pipes from tanks to avoid the water in tanks becom ing polluted with unclean rain-water from dust-covered roofs. A good sugges tion is to clean out the gutters every day to obviate the dust accumulating too much and thus forming a cement-like mass at the first rain.”

Here is a note, dated June 22, from a well-known resident of Rabaul:— “Matupi is giving us a very bad time.

I doubt whether, if it continues to eject smoke, dust, etc., over Rabaul for months, people could work here. Dust is in everything, whichever way the wind blows, because it is in the trees, in the roads—in fact, everywhere. I think the danger is considerable, but the nuisance is the worst feature to me.”

Matupi in action. A snapshot from the harbour, by C. H. Meen.