The U.S. Geological Survey said that it is classifying 18 volcanoes in the United States as having a “very high threat.”
The Yellowstone system is ranked 21st along with other volcanoes across North America.
“The threat ranking is intended as a guide in terms of which volcanoes should be prioritized for upgrades in monitoring capabilities,” Poland said. “Yellowstone is already among the best-monitored volcanoes in the world, but we expect that the upgraded threat assessment will be helpful in refining the monitoring plan.”
The danger list is topped by Kilauea in Hawaii, which has been erupting continuously in 2018.
Mount St. Helens as well as Mount Rainier in Washington, Alaska’s Redoubt Volcano, and California’s Mount Shasta are also the top five, the USGS said.
Alaska’s Mount Okmok, Akutan Island, and Mount Spurr also saw higher threat scores than in 2006, the USGS said.
The USGS has threat assessment levels of very low, low, moderate, high, and very high.
“Five of the 18 very high threat volcanoes are in Alaska near important population centers, economic infrastructure, or below busy air traffic corridors. The remaining two very high threat volcanoes are on the Island of Hawaii, where densely populated and highly developed areas now exist on the flanks of highly active volcanoes,” the agency said.
It added: “The high- and moderate-threat categories are dominated by Alaskan volcanoes. In these categories, the generally more active and more explosive volcanoes in Alaska can have a substantial effect on national and international aviation, and large eruptions from any of the moderate- to very-high-threat volcanoes could cause regional or national-scale disasters”
Threat scores rose for Oregon’s Newberry Volcano.
There are 161 active volcanoes in the U.S.
“While Yellowstone supervolcano does have the potential for a large eruption, the fact that it erupts infrequently, shows no signs of increasing eruption risk today and is located in a relatively sparsely populated area of the United States decreases the threat,” says Nace.