Fuego Volcano Eruption Prompts Evacuation of Guatemalans

On Thursday, the 3,763-meter-high Fuego volcano, located 35 km southwest of Guatemala City, entered its effusive characteristic eruptive stage.

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The Guatemalan authorities began the evacuation of the population that could be affected by an eruption of this volcano, which is located in the center of the country amid the departments of Escuintla, Chimaltenango and Sacatepequez.

The Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (CONRED) Secretary Oscar Cossio pointed out that some 1,054 people from five nearby communities were evacuated in the last few hours.

However, the number of people evaded is expected to increase because the inhabitants of two other communities have not yet been counted. Citizens were transferred to a sports venue in the municipality of Santa Lucia Cotzumalguapa.

There are some 130,000 people at risk from ash fall. For this reason, the authorities have prepared 13 shelters to house some 7,600 people in four nearby municipalities.

On Friday morning, the eruptive column was maintained at a height of 6,000 meters above sea level and was loaded with abundant ash, which moved some 100 kilometers to the west and southwest.

"The pyroclastic flows are a mixture of gases, ash, and blocks of rock with high temperatures that descend at great speed down the flanks of the Fuego volcano," CONRED explained.