TAIPEI: A volcano overlooking this city is still active, and not dormant as had been thought for many years. The volcano poses a potential threat to an area that is home to three million people, local media reported yesterday. The threat, however, is believed to be minimal.

Datun Mountain, about an hour's drive from Taipei's city center, could devastate the entire urban area if it were to erupt now, the China Post said, citing Academia Sinica, Taiwan's leading scientific research institution.

The assessment is based on findings from the academy suggesting the volcano last erupted 5,000 years ago rather than 200,000 years ago, as previously thought, according to the report.

Scientists arrived at the revised date after analyzing volcanic ash near the mountain. A final study is expected at the end of the year, the paper said.

An active volcano is defined as one that has erupted within the past 10,000 years, according to the Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program.

Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin said he would consider the new findings and set up contingency plans for a possible eruption, according to the paper.

However, Taipei-based Central News Agency quoted an official with the Central Geological Servey (CGS) under the economic affairs authorities as saying yesterday that Tatun Mountain is "almost dormant" and its chance of erupting again "extremely low", mainly because a 2003 study of the mountain detected no seismic activity underneath.

AFP

(HK Edition 11/03/2009 page2)