Volcano Of Fire Erupts Spewing Ash Four Miles Into Air, Prompting Evacuation In Mexico


A volcano of fire erupted, spewing ash four miles into the air in Colima, Western Mexico on Saturday, July 11.

The “Volcano of Fire,” or the Colima Volcano as it is also known, rained down ash as lava flowed from its center, prompting authorities to seal off a seven and a half mile radius around it, the Agence France-Presse reported via Yahoo News.

“The communities in this 12-kilometer radius are very small and don’t exceed 800 inhabitants. They have all been evacuated,” Luis Felipe Puente, the national civil protection coordinator, said.

The Licenciado Miguel de la Madrid Airport in Colima has also been closed due to its close proximity to the erupting volcano. However, as of Monday, July 13, the airport had resumed flights due to the immense number of people who were stranded. Mario Anguiano, governor of Colima, and the airport made the announcements on their Twitter pages.

The “Volcano of Fire,” located near the border of Colima and its neighbor western Mexican state Jalisco, first started erupting on Thursday, July 9, and became increasingly more aggressive as the days past, HNGN reports. That is when the authorities made the decision to start the evacuation process.

According to Fox News, the residents of Yerbabuena, Colima, the first hamlet evacuated, were taken to a temporary shelter after two inches of ash covered their community. As of Sunday morning, 19 evacuees were reported, but the number rose to 70 by Sunday afternoon. Five other communities were also being prepared to evacuate.

The interior ministry said the actions of the volcano were “atypical, presenting conditions similar to those of 1913,” when another major eruption took place. They also warned about three possible scenarios: eruption could wane, crescendo into a larger eruption like in 1913, and/or the volcano’s dome could collapse.

The authorities are currently watching the volcano “minute by minute,” and have seen a significant “drop in volcanic activity.” They are also prepared to evacuate more people if need be and will be passing out surgical masks to help protect the population from the smoke, ash, and debris.

[Photo via Shutterstock]

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