Mega 11,000-foot volcano set to explode leaves 300,000 US residents bracing for eruption

300,000 US residents are bracing for chaos, as Alaska's Mount Spurr is due to blow its top at any moment and potentially upend their lives.

Following concerns in early March that Mount Spurr could blow its top within the next few weeks or months, that's becoming a real possibility as scientists ramp up the alert warnings and tell nearby communities to brace themselves.

Sitting some 80 miles west of Anchorage the 11,000-foot Mount Spurr is tipped to explode.

The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) has reported 55 earthquakes in the past week, with increased seismic activity also including 'swarms' that are several quakes coming in quick succession.

They suggest that the increase of earthquakes is an indicator that magma is rising beneath the surface and causing cracks in the rocks.

Still sitting on the yellow (advisory) warning, the last update from April 13 reads: "Unrest continues at Mount Spurr volcano. Seismicity remains elevated with occasional small, shallow volcanic earthquakes detected beneath the volcano over the past day."

Matt Haney is lead scientist at the AVO, telling MailOnline that an eruption could be powerful enough to send ash clouds soaring up to 50,000 feet into the air.

A single ash-producing event could last for up to four hours, with the aftermath falling on Anchorage and other nearby communities.

Still, there are questions about when exactly Mount Spurr could blow.

The unrest started way back in April 2024, with earthquakes climbing from around 30 to 125 by the time we got to October.

The U.S. Geological Survey has been monitoring 'hundreds' of tremors within 30 miles of Mount Spurr, with a 3.7-magnitude earthquake striking near Petersville on April 2.

There's also been an increase in the levels of volcanic gases recorded near the summit crater and the crater peak vent.

The good news is that reaching Mount Spurr typically requires you to chart a plane because there's so little there in terms of infrastructure.

For now, tourists and hikers who visit the area for its picturesque walks are told to keep an eye on the warning systems.

Even though Mount Spurr's summit crater hasn't erupted for 5,000 years, it's crater peak is a different story.

The last time Mount Spurr erupted was back in 1992, where disruption caused Anchorage's airport to close and blanketed the city in an eighth of an inch of ash.

We have been fooled before, like when similar activity ocurred in 2004 without an eruption. That doesn't mean residents aren't taking this seriously.

Over in Anchorage. Residents have told NPR how they're preparing, with measures including protecting their homes and belongings from falling clouds of ash, getting protective equipment for themselves, and even for their pets. Local resident Angela Łot’oydaatlno Gonzalez even took to TikTok to show how she and her dog have been preparing for Mount Spurr's potential eruption.

With those who live in Anchorage warned to stock up on supplies, there's been an apparent rush on N95 masks, protective gear, and water jugs.

Mount Spurr isn't alone in its troubles, with us reporting earlier this year how it remains on a watchlist alongside the Great Sitkin and Hawaii's Kilauea volcanoes.