Officials have warned that seismic activity at two volcanoes in Alaska may indicate an eruption

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Officials have warned that a volcano in remote Alaska is experiencing heightened seismic activity, which could indicate an increased likelihood of an eruption, the second such warning issued in a week.

Officials with the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) said that earthquake activity near Takawanga volcano has increased over the past 48 hours and is still ongoing.

The volcano is located west of Anchorage in the West Aleutian Islands and is about five miles from the Tanaga volcano, which scientists said earlier this week has seen intense seismic activity.

The agency raised the alert level to advisory status for the Tanaga volcano late on Tuesday after the earthquakes intensified.

The observatory has since raised the alert level for Takawanga volcano.

Analysts at the Observatory continue to monitor the situation closely. The observatory said that up to several quakes per minute occur under Tanaga Island, where both volcanoes are located.

The largest earthquake occurred in the past 24 hours, with a magnitude of 3.9, located under the Tanaga volcano.

No eruptive activity or signs of disturbances were detected in satellite or other monitoring data.

The island is located about 1,250 miles southwest of Anchorage. There are no communities there, but Adak, a town of about 170 people located on another island, is about 65 miles away and you can see Ashfall.

If a volcano erupts, it could be a problem for aircraft. The Aleutians are fewer than the routes that planes fly between North America and Asia. Volcanic ash is angular and sharp and can cause aircraft engines to stall.

Previous eruptions have had slow-moving viscous ash and lava clouds, such as what happened at Mount St. Helens in Washington State in 1980.

There are no known historical eruptions from Takawanga, but fieldwork shows recent eruptions occurred and it is possible that historical eruptions attributed to Tanaga may have come instead from Takawanga, according to the scientists.

The last eruption of Tanaga volcano was in 1914.

Additional reporting by agencies

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