Over a thousand residents were hurriedly evacuated yesterday Thursday from their homes after entering the phase of explosive activity of the Fuego volcanonear the Guatemalan capital, the most active in all of Central America, according to authorities.
The eruption of the volcano began yesterday Thursday morning and pyroclastic flows were detected on the slopes of Fuego, raising concern for the safety of the population of communities near the crater.
A total of 1,054 residents of five nearby villages were evacuated from their homes, the director of the national coordination agency for disaster response (CONRED), Oscar Cosio, said during a press conference.
According to CONRED, about 130,000 people are threatened by the eruption of Fuego, a giant that reaches 3,763 meters in altitude and is only 35 kilometers from the homonymous capital of Guatemala.
The general director of the Institute of Volcanology of Guatemala (INSIVUMEH), Edwin Rojas, however, reported last night “de-escalation of volcanic activity”.
The plume rising into the sky from the crater, consisting of gases and volcanic ash, “reached a height of 6,000 meters above sea level, Civil Protection said earlier.
The last time the Fuego volcano erupted in December 2022, Guatemala’s international airport had to be closed, as was a busy road between the tourist city of Antigua and the southern part of the country.
The police prohibited the crossing of the same road yesterday afternoon.
On June 3, 2018, a volcanic eruption followed by the release of pyroclastic flows obliterated the community of San Miguel Los Lotes and part of the road to the nearby town of Alotenango. The official tally by the authorities was 215 dead, hundreds injured and many missing, some of whom were never found.
Besides Fuego, two other volcanoes are active in Guatemala, Pacaya (south) and Santiago (west).
Source: News Beast
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