Health fears rise as twin volcanic blasts cover town in ash
Twin blasts from the Calbuco volcano in southern Chile sent vast clouds of ash into the sky, covering the small town of Ensenada with thick soot and raising concerns that the dust could contaminate water, cause respiratory illnesses and ground more flights.
Ensenada, in the foothills of the volcano, looked like a ghost town but for an occasional horse or dog roaming its only street. Most of the 1500 residents had evacuated after the initial eruption on Thursday, with only about 30 people refusing to leave out of worry for their homes and animals.
Daniel Patricio Gonzalez left with his wife, 7-year-old son and 4-year-old twins, but he returned to town on Friday to assess the damage. The roof at the restaurant he manages had caved in from the weight of the ash.
‘‘This hurts a bit, but there’s nothing to do against nature. The important thing is that my family is fine,’’ Gonzalez said.
The volcano erupted on Thursday afternoon for the first time in more than four decades, spewing out a plume of ash more than 10 kilometres high. Emergency officials were taken by surprise and had only a few minutes to issue an alert. Calbuco had another spectacular outburst on Friday with lightning crackling through a dark sky turned reddish-orange by the explosion.
As the ash cloud spread on Thursday, ‘‘people went into a state of panic’’, said Miguel Silva Diaz, an engineer who lives in Puerto Montt, a city about 22km from the volcano.
Winds blew ash in a widening arc across to Argentina. No injuries were reported and the only person reported missing since the eruption was has been found.
Authorities evacuated 4000 people as gas and ash continued to spew, and they closed access to the area around the volcano, which lies near the cities of Puerto Varas and Puerto Montt, about 1000km south of Santiago.
‘‘I was shocked,’’ said Daniel Palma, a psychologist who lives in Puerto Varas.
‘‘I had just arrived home when I looked through the window and saw the column of smoke rising up. We called our families, posted photos . . . We have a layer of smoke above us.’’
He said that many people were concerned about the possible effects of the ash on their health.
The Chilean national geology and mining service warned that people should prepare for a third and ‘‘even more aggressive eruption’’.
President Michelle Bachelet, who visited the area on Friday, declared a state of emergency.