Breaking News: Turrialba Volcano Erupts On Easter Sunday [Video]
The Tico Times News reported today that Costa Rica has been rocked by another significant eruption of the Turrialba Volcano that spewed ash over Costa Rica’s Central Valley area and led to evacuation of tourists in Turrialba this Easter Sunday.
Today, Easter Sunday, at 11:00 a.m,, the Turrialba Volcano spewed ash for over an hour, and this comes after two earthquakes in Turrialba just this past Friday, Good Friday.
According to Tico Times News, police evacuated tourists to a safer distance.
Update 2:31 p.m., April 5: Police Chief Juan José Andrade confirms that police are evacuating tourists in areas surrounding Turrialba Volcano. Police were forced to evacuate a group of tourists that had attempted to approach the volcano to watch the explosion.
The National University’s Volcanological and Seismological Observatory (OVSICORI) is monitoring the situation around Turrialba and is asking for public input. OVSICORI is asking people who witness ash to report its location on their website. The online form can be translated and features a map of the area around the active volcano and a series of questions that will allow OVSICORI to provide intervention and information appropriately.
Today’s ash plume reached 500 meters and sent ash raining down on nearby farms. As of 1:30 p.m., ash was no longer spewing but large amounts of noxious gas and vapors were still pouring out of the volcano.
Winds have carried the volcanic dust southwest from Turrialba to the outskirts of the capital, San Jose, 50 km away. There are reports of large quantities of ash East of San José in Tres Ríos and San Pedro as well as in the western suburb of Escazú.
In March, Inquisitr reported that a similar Turrialba Volcano eruption shut down the Juan Santamaría International Airport stranding at least 7,000 travelers. Scientific American published a slideshow of astonishing images of the historic March, 2015, eruptions of Turrialba Volcano that sent plumes more than a km high and spread ash and toxic fumes through Turrialba and as far as San Jose. The images depict the damage to farmland, and the danger to people from poor air quality. During the last two weeks of March, Turrialba Volcano erupted 14 times in two weeks, according to The Costa Rica Star.
Several Turrialba Volcano eruptions in October and November of last year caused severe damage to the crops and livestock surrounding Turrialba. The eruption last November was the largest since 1866, and magma approached the surface. Wired.com reported that people and livestock were evacuated from surrounding areas.
[Image and Video via OVSICORI]
