Alaska's Mount Redoubt eruption

Mount Redoubt looms in the background on the Kenai river in Alaska Photograph: Al Grillo/AP

The location of Mount Redoubt, in relation to surrounding towns, roads, and other volcanoes, some 100 miles south-west of Alaska's largest city, Anchorage Photograph: HO/AFP/Getty Images

Satellite view of the sediment-filled Cook Inlet with surrounding range of mountains Photograph: MODIS/NASA

On January 24 the Alaska Volcano Observatory raised the possibility of an eruption in the near future. Tremors suggestive of moving magma continued from late January through February. Visible evidence of increased volcanic activity appeared at the volcano's summit. Holes appeared in the ice, and streams of melt water cut across the surface of the Drift glacier on Mount Redoubt's northern flank. Redoubt's 3,108 metre (10,197-foot) summit is near the centre of the image, casting a deep shadow on the volcano's crater. Dark holes in the Drift glacier were formed where hot magma heated rocks under the ice Photograph: NASA

Photo of Mount Redoubt taken during an observation flight on January 30. The vigorous steam and gas plume is from a large fumarole Photograph: Wallace Kristi/AVO/USGS

Mount Redoubt's summit crater and upper Drift glacier showing debris-flow deposit. The two fumaroles indicated (F) and melt pit (M) were steaming when this photograph was taken on February 27. The debris-flow deposit was produced by a sudden outflow of water and sediment, probably associated with the failure of an ice dam that released water stored higher up in the crater Photograph: Chris Waythomas/AVO/USGS

21 April 1990: Eruption from Redoubt as viewed to the west from the Kenai peninsula. The mushroom-shaped plume rose from avalanches of hot debris (pyroclastic flows) that cascaded down the north flank of the volcano. A smaller, white steam plume rises from the summit crater Photograph: R. Clucas/AVO/USGS

Close up view of fumaroles below the 1989-90 dome Photograph: Chris Waythomas/AVO/USGS

Muddy water flows down the Drift glacier Photograph: Cyrus Read/AVO/USGS

Fumarole in Mount Redoubt's Drift glacier with waterfall pouring into it Photograph: Cyrus Read/AVO/USGS

Aerial view of the west flank of Mount Redoubt before debris flow Photograph: Jennifer N. Adleman/AVO/USGS

Photograph taken during observation and gas data collection flight Photograph: Heather Bleick/AVO/USGS

View of the area inside the summit crater at Mount Redoubt affected by tephra fall from the small ash eruption. The new vent is obscured and out of view to the upper left. The vapour and gas cloud at left is rising from the new vent and the 1990 dome and other fumaroles Photograph: Christina Neal/AVO/USGS

A plume of steam and ash rises above Mount Redoubt from the town of Soldotna, Alaska, 50 miles to the east Photograph: KPA/Zuma / Rex Features/Rex Features

Steam and ash errupts from the volcano last week Photograph: Cyrus Read/Getty Images

Webcam image of Mount Redoubt just after it began erupting on 23 March Photograph: AVO/USGS

March 23, 2009: Photos of the flooding in Drift Valley and tephra deposits from the eruption of Redoubt Volcano. Photograph: Cyrus Read/AVO/USGS

Massive flooding in Drift valley after the eruption of Mount Redoubt. High-water marks on the valley walls are estimated to be about six to eight metres Photograph: Game McGimsey/AVO/USGS

A moose calf leaves footprints in ash from Mount Redoubt as it walks along a trail in Trapper Creek, Alaska Photograph: Al Grillo/AP