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What caused the 1995 & 1996 Ruapehu eruption?
Mount Ruapehu is located at the southern end of the Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ). The Taupo Volcanic Zone is named after Taupo, the largest volcano in the zone. TVZ extends 350 kilometres from mount Ruapehu and Mount Ngauruhoe at the southwestern tip, through Taupo, Rotorua and to Whakaari (or White Island).  Activity in the TVZ is caused by the nearby plate boundary. The New Zealand plate boundary consists of two plates, the Australian plate and the Pacific plate. There is also a fault line very close to the TVZ, it is called ‘The North Island Fault Line’. The North Island fault runs in a continuous line from The Bay of Plenty southwards to the wellington coast. Both The North Island fault line and Taupo Volcanic Zone is under constant stress from the plate boundary. The constantly shifting New Zealand plate boundary causes stress and energy in the magma chamber of Ruapehu. In 1995 and 1996 under the crater lake (which normally holds about 10 million cubic squares of acidic water), in the magma chamber, it was under so much stress from the subduction zone that it started to release some of its stress by ejecting out some of its water. This created lahars (better known as mudflows). Lahars were produced on many occasions, some of them smaller than others, and some so large that they managed to travel into the rivers and waterways. Eventually Mount Ruapehu found the stress to overwhelming that it exploded on a few occasions, releasing boulders that travelled up to 1.5 kilometres away from the crater, lahars that travelled up to 90km/h,  and millions of tonnes of ash smothered the desert road, and travelled with the wind to taupo and other villages.

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Mt Ruapehu eruptions  spectacular raw footage

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What cultural and natural effects did the 1995 & 1996 Mount Ruapehu Eruptions create?

The cultural and natural effects of the eruptions were huge! The 1996 eruption produced at least seven million tonnes of ash, with over 2.3 million tonnes of ash falling on lake Taupo. Ruapehu also produced lahars (mudflows) which found their way into rivers and streams. This was a big impact to the environment because drinking water was contaminated, which affected animals and humans, particularly in rural areas. Ash in the waterways reduced water clarity in some streams and increased acidity in others. Ash in the Tongariro River damaged the Rangipo power station. Ash also damaged many metal structures, including vehicles of many kinds (refer to photo). The large amount of ashfall lowered visibility, which disrupted air travel and even led to some airports closing. The eruptions disrupted tourism, which impacted the area's economy. Dangerous levels of sulphur dioxide (CO₂) was found on the mountain, causing it to end the ski season and close everything. New Zealand was estimated to have lost about $130 million dollars in the tourism sector alone. Luckily, the eruption of Mount Ruapehu did not take any lives (human).

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How did people respond to the 1995 & 1996 Mount Ruapehu Eruptions?
For most people, the eruption of Mount Ruapehu came as a thrill of excitement. People on the mountain and the nearby villages that could see the mountain watched in amazement. Most people stopped what they were doing and just watched the ash explode into the air. My parents, Lynne Rankin and Ian Shores were in the carpark finishing a day of skiing on whakapapa ski field when it erupted, they stopped what they were doing and watched in awe. Here are some words on what they said it was like; “As it erupted we were facing the wrong way, we turned to this incredibly loud rushing noise and had to look high into the sky because of the huge amount of ash. It was awesome!” - Lynne Rankin. “It sounded like a massive waterfall, we turned around to look at the top of the mountain, and our eyes were drawn ever skywards as we looked up to the top of the plume. A few seconds later we saw the lahars, and they very nearly looked as if they would come our way. It was mesmerizing” - Ian Shores

Although many enjoyed the explosion, some felt the opposite. Because of the eruptions, tourism activities in the area were forced to close for safety reason. Because of the large ashfall, small airports in the area closed. Ash damaged many belongings, the biggest being vehicles. Ash contaminated many waterways, making water for villages harmful to drink. So, although many enjoyed the explosion, the damage it caused to jobs, belongings, vehicles, and waterways was devastated and many people were angered by it.

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https://www.researchgate.net/publication/240670927_Impacts_of_the_1945_and_1995-1996_Ruapehu_eruptions_New_Zealand_An_example_of_increasing_societal_vulnerability
http://www.explorevolcanoes.com/Ruapehu-new-zealand.html
https://www.waikatoregion.govt.nz/Services/Regional-services/Regional-hazards-and-emergency-management/Volcanic-activity/Mount-Ruapehu-erupts/
https://www.gns.cri.nz/Home/Learning/Science-Topics/Volcanoes/New-Zealand-Volcanoes/Volcano-Geology-and-Hazards/Ruapehu-Geology
https://www.gns.cri.nz/Home/Learning/Science-Topics/Earthquakes/Major-Faults-in-New-Zealand
https://www.gns.cri.nz/Home/Learning/Science-Topics/Volcanoes/New-Zealand-Volcanoes/Ruapehu
http://www.mt-ruapehu.com/category/recent-eruption/
https://www.eqc.govt.nz/news/remembering-the-1995-mt-ruapehu-eruption
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcanic_eruption
http://www.geonet.org.nz/volcano

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Ashfall from the 1996 Ruapehu eruption damaged many metal structures, including many different vehicles.

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Photo of 1996 Lahars (mudflows) and ashfalls damaging rivers.

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Ruapehu's Crater Lake - a Window into the Volcano

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Monitoring the crater lake helps scientists to calculate the volcanic alert level of Ruapehu. Eruption footage courtesy of Geoff Mackley, Skifield footage thanks to mtruapehu.com

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The current volcano alert level for Mount Ruapehu is  one. One means it's currently a minor volcanic unrest, the possibility of it exploding is incredibly small.

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Man Cleaning Car Of Ashfall From Mount Ruapehu

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Man Cleaning Car Of Ashfall From Mount Ruapehu