Low-level activity seen at Alaska volcano

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, April 1 (UPI) -- Scientists said Alaska's Mount Redoubt volcano remained relatively quiet Wednesday, producing only low-level emissions and weak seismic activity.

The Alaska Volcano Observatory said ash clouds would continue to drift across Cook Inlet to the south of Anchorage.

"We are in a bit of a lull today -- things have quieted down significantly," John Power, a researcher at the observatory, told a news conference Tuesday. "But we do expect things to continue and we really encourage people to prepare for additional explosive events that may spread significant ash throughout south-central Alaska."

While operations at Ted Stephens International Airport were running smoothly early Wednesday, the Drift River crude oil terminal on Cook Inlet remained shut down.

The terminal is near the slopes of Mount Redoubt and was evacuated as a precaution against sudden flash-flooding that could result from a sizable explosive eruption that would instantly melt large amounts of snow and ice.

The closure has reduced the amount of storage available to Alaska crude producers, the Anchorage Daily News said Wednesday. At the same time, some oil rigs in the inlet were also shut down on Tuesday, the newspaper reported.