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All right, Allison, when did you hear about the eruption?

I actually heard about it.

It would have been evening time here,

so only within a few hours of the eruption,

because myself and my students were paying attention to Twitter.

They announced the eruption before it was clear that there were people there.

It was 2 pm local time in New Zealand.

And we were aware of it, and then as we proceeded to try and find out more about the eruption,

is when so much more information came out.

Allison Gretinger is a volcanologist who specializes in volcanic eruptions that interact with water.

That's the type of eruption that occurred in New Zealand last week,

when the volcano Fakari or White Island erupted unexpectedly,

while people were touring the island.

As of this recording, 16 people have died,

and the police continue to search the island.

Well, it was that it erupted with sort of surprising,

because I assigned my students volcanoes to babysit

with the purpose of them understanding that some volcanoes erupt at the time,

some erupt by surprise.

So we were just thinking about timing and how you don't anticipate these things,

even if you know a volcano is active.

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